Being a Hostess of the Mostess

Party, Party, Party! Birthday parties, Holiday parties, Dinner dates, Social Gatherings, Book Club, Bible Study...these are just a few of the hosting opportunities we have on a regular basis. Bryan and I love to host. We enjoy bringing people into our home and eating good food, spending time with people, and Bryan loves serving up his latest concoction from his home brewery or his homemade wine. We hosted my Grandma and Dad's birthday party last night, so this is my reflection and also my preparation for our next big event: hosting our first Thanksgiving dinner!

 I am truly blessed, because I would like to think that I've learned a few good tips from the best of the best when it comes to hostessing. First, my mother. My mom has held all the family parties and thrown many parties for my friends and I growing up. She is known in our family for being the hostest of the mostest. Every one who has attended one of her parties would say she always has the best! If she is throwing the party, then you know the food will be plentiful and there will be fun for all. Some of my favorites are the bonfire party she threw for one of my birthdays in highschool. We had a bonfire, lots of food, and my dad got out some minibikes and let people ride them (until one of my friends wrecked one). It was awesome. Or the time when I was in college and my mom had totally fooled me with a surprise birthday party; she loves surprise parties. Or our last joint birthday party where she took stock of all of our favorite foods and was able to represent every one of them! haha. It was great. My mom is always working so hard to take care of her guests and make sure everyone is comfortable, having fun, and nice and full!

Second, my mother-in-law, Roseanne, is also a wonderful hostess. She's extremely efficient! She plans out her menu well in advanced. She makes what she can ahead of time. She will always make sure that the food is ready to go on time. This is probably why Bryan gets so frustrated with me when I'm running late (which is embarrassingly often), because he grew up with a mom who is habitually on time if not early. My mother-in-law also has the superhero ability to have her house party ready at all times in that it is always spick and span! I REALLY try to live this out, but let's get real folks...most of us have to do some special party cleaning, right? Since she does all of her planning and is so efficient, she's really able to relax and have fun with everyone at the party.

                                                                 
Last but not least, my other mother-in-law, Karen, is a wonderful hostess. For those of you who don't know, Bryan has 3 siblings and then 5 step-siblings. Most of them are married, some of them have kids, and then there are boyfriends/girlfriends. The point being is that our family is HUGE! Karen is able to cool, calm, and collectively organize and pull off many family events. It is so much fun to be a part of a family with so many of us around the same age. Karen is quite the multi-tasker and such a hard worker.

All of these women are amazing to me. I am so blessed to have grown up with such an amazing mom, who taught me so many things. Now, God continues to bless me with more strong, hospitable, and loving women. The only lesson I can gather from that is that God desires me to have these qualities too! He certainly has provided me many examples!

Now that you know where I'm coming from, let me leave you with a few Hostess of the Mostess tips of my own:

1. Plan ahead! For everything! Let your guests know well in advanced of when the party is, even if it's immediate family. They have lives too ya know. Plan your menu, your cleaning schedule, you name it- plan it! It'll make for a less stressful day.

2. Let people know how they can help! I'm not always super good at this one, because sometimes I try to be superwoman (and I'm obviously not) but often times people are happy to help! So let them!

3. Try to make what you can ahead of time and store in fridge AND plan out your serving dishes too! Have them cleaned out and ready to use, so that you don't have to take too much time plating foods.

4. Don't forget about the kids! I have a box of kids books at my house, because I love books and I'm super excited to have kids one day (hopefully soon). Until then, they're great for entertaining the little ones.  Small toys or coloring books etc. can be picked up at the dollar store too!

5. Don't stress out! Your guests will have more fun, if you're having fun! Be hospitable, be loving, be kind. Proverbs 31 talks about this type of woman. I would say God desires us to be a hard-working, hospitable, kind, and loving hostess of the mostest.

Your turn! Do any of you out there have any fabulous tips to pulling off a successful event that you host?