Category

Blog Maintanence

Category

Recaps of Month, Info on subscribing, advertising ad space

A Well Crafted Party

Throwing Affordable Holiday Parties – Podcast with Stacking Benjamins

No Comments A Well Crafted Party

I’m excited to shared that I was featured on the awesome, and hilarious, podcast Stacking Benjamins today with my tips on “Holiday Parties That Won’t Break the Bank.” Head on over to hear the holiday party tips I share while  visiting Joe’s mom’s basement. Don’t forget to stay for Doug’s trivia!

If you have found my little blog via the podcast… welcome! I hope you stay for the party. 😉 Learn a little more about me and this corner of the internet on my ever growing “About Me” page. Learn more holiday tips below!

Holiday Party Tips | A Well Crafted Party
Photo by Macey Snelson | Festive Green and White Holiday Party

How to Throw an Affordable Holiday Party this Season:

Hosting a party needs to be fun for your guests, but it also needs to be fun for you as a host! When hosting a party becomes an obligation rather than a privilege, it sucks out the fun for everyone. When putting together a holiday soiree think about what is most important to you and ways you can decrease your stress.

Outsource what you hate!

My blog is all about finding affordable ways to celebrate life. However, there are times when where you need to save is less about saving money and more about saving sanity. This might have been something that has come with age, but I think it is really important to figure out what you need to outsource to make hosting an event enjoyable to you as well as your guests. When looking at a limited budget, think about outsourcing areas that really stress you out will go a long way to helping make for a successful event. For instance, if you hate cleaning, consider renting out a venue or hiring cleaners for your home. If cooking isn’t your jam, hire a catering company or order out. You can re-plate a lot of foods to make them look like a million bucks without all the stress of a day in the kitchen cooking. Order flowers from a florist rather than styling your own. A well placed gorgeous bouquet can do the job of decorating for a party without a lot of effort!

Limit options when it comes to beverages and food.

This will go a long way in cutting back stress, but also allow you to better stick to a budget.

Holiday Drinks | A Well Crafted Party

Beverages: Guests don’t often need a multitude of beverage choices to enjoy a party.

Instead of investing in several bottles of different choices of red and white wines, pick a house favorite single red and single white wine to serve. Same with beer. Pick one or two favorites. Don’t worry about stocking up a full bar, instead, create one to two signature cocktails— punch bowls and batch cocktails are awesome ways to limit your expenses and keep yourself from having to tend bar all night long. Always serve non-alcoholic options as well, but again, limit the options. I always love to have a carafe of water elevated with fruit, mint, or cucumber as an affordable and refreshing non-alcoholic option. I generally estimate 1.5 drinks per person per hour for a dinner party event and 2 drinks per person per hour for a cocktail party event. Day-time events generally go with an estimation of 1 drink per hour.

Holiday Appetizers | A Well Crafted Party Photo by Mary Boyden
Photo Mary Boyden – Oysters with Tabasco Shaved Ice

Food: A few well selected food items can go over better than a bevvy of choices that aren’t well-thought out.

Cocktail Party: For a cocktail party event pick three to five appetizers and make sure there are around three to four pieces/servings per appetizer per person. Have them strategically placed around the room or passed out on trays. As a host this is a perfect excuse to make it around the room to see how everyone is doing without being pulled to stay for a long conversation with one guest. Put a tray in your hand and deliver food to your guests! (Check out these awesome holiday appetizers from some of my favorite blogs!)

Dinner Party: I am a big fan of large dinner parties with several courses, but when sticking to a budget I generally stick to a menu of 3 to 4 courses at most. (How to throw a Multi-Course Dinner Party)

Potluck: Potlucks are incredibly popular during the holiday season and I’m a BIG fan. The way to make potlucks more guest-friendly? Make sure you are upfront in the invitation that it is a potluck and what type of item you are expecting guests to bring. When guests do bring items to a potluck, don’t forget to have ways for them to label their foods so that your guests with allergies or food aversions can pick out items that fit their needs and tastes. (Free holiday potluck printables.)

DIY Holiday Decor | A Well Crafted Party photo by Macey Snelson
Photo by Macey Snelson | DIY Branch Holiday Card Holder

My thoughts on DIY

Obviously, my blog is all about ‘crafting’ a great experience. I’m a HUGE fan of DIY. A great way to decrease the expense of a party is to DIY!  But, when doing it yourself causes great stress, it is more important to allocate your funds in a way that will make the event enjoyable to your and your guests. Go ahead an purchase some pre-made appetizers or desserts. Put it on another plate and go! Limit the DIY projects to one or two even if you are a pro DIYer.  The great thing about holiday party decor is that it is sort of already built in with your general holiday decor. Get more easy DIY projects and free printables from my “Natural Green and White Holiday Party.”

More holiday party tips

 

 

 

by
Keep Reading
Top Posts of 2016 - A Well Crafted Party
Blog Maintanence

The Best of A Well Crafted Party in 2016

5 Comments Blog Maintanence

One of my favorite things to do every year is to sit down and recap my year and think about how I am going to go forward. I gotta say… finding my life/work/blog balance has been hard this year. I didn’t get to all my plans for the year and certainly didn’t blog as consistently in the past. However, I am very proud of some of the content I created this year! I also did see about a 7.5% growth in my blog and that makes me feel like I am at least on the right track even if the growth was slower than I had hoped.

All in all the most popular posts for A Well Crafted Party are about cocktails or blogging. Parties and Parenting posts come in right behind.

The top five posts of the year on A Well Crafted Party:

2016 Blog Planner Announcement was the top post of 2016! The 2017 planner is coming soon!

Top Post Published in 2016: 2016 Blog Planner

2016 Blog Planner has been my most popular post that was published in 2016. Of course, the 2017 planner will be out before the end of 2016 so stay tuned!

My working moms series was the second most view post of 2016 - A Well Crafted Party

Second Most Visited Post Published in 2016: Working Moms Series

Working Moms: Pharmacist, Pregnant Mother of One was second up. The whole Working Moms series was a favorite of mine this year and several of the posts came in as the top posts for the year.

These Red Vines cocktails and NA drinks were among the most popular posts on A Well Crafted Party

Third Most Visited Post Published in 2016: Red Vines Cocktail

Halloween Cocktail & NA Beverage with Red Vines— Evidently candy and cocktails go together!

Cute and Casual Style for Boys — A Well Crafted Party

Fourth Most Visited Post Published in 2016: Brother Style

Brother Style: Kid Casual Style— I can see why readers like this one… the boys are pretty cute together.

Best of A Well Crafted Party 2016: Blueberry Tangerine Cocktail

Fifth Most Visited Post Published in 2016: Blueberry Tangerine Cocktail

Saturday Spirits: Blueberry Tangerine Cocktail— Tastes like Summer!

 

Most viewed post in 2016 was actually a post written in 2015:

For the Love of Amaretto

Top Posts on A Well Crafted Party: Love of Amaretto

Best Blogger Moments in 2016:

Sometimes I am in absolutely awe that I get to have the job that I do. I never in a million years would have imagined this life for myself when planning my future. I will always be grateful for the experiences I’ve been able to enjoy as a blogger and for the stories I get to share with readers. My top moments of 2016 include:

Holiday Party Tips on KATU Afternoon Live - A Well Crafted Party

  1. Working Moms Series: Interviewing and sharing the stories of working moms. This series meant the most to me. I really can’t thank the people that helped me pull it off and the moms involved enough.
  2. My work printed in a magazine! I loved that my story got featured in Momma Bear Magazine this year.
  3. I got to be on the radio and TV (twice)! I shared last minute Halloween tips on KATU in October, Thanksgiving tips on the Ultimate Oregon Thanksgiving show on Simple Kitchen with Missy Maki in November, and  last-minute holiday tips on KATU in December.

My personal favorite posts of 2016:

Boy, I have so many posts that are on my top personal posts of the year. The working moms series is at the very top of that list. However, right after that I’d put my series on my 10th Anniversary Party. These posts didn’t get nearly as many pageviews as I first imagined they would… but, BOY it was the best party I’ve ever thrown and there were some seriously amazing photos done by photographer Mary Boyden.

Instagram Top 9:

jennibost best nine

Do you follow me on Instagram? If so you might have seen these top nine posts!

 

Are you a long time reader? If so, what was your favorite post (or topic) of 2016? Share in the comments! I’d like to bring that into the New Year!

 

by
Keep Reading
Holiday Party Tips on KATU Afternoon Live - A Well Crafted Party
Christmas

Last Minute Holiday Party Tips

11 Comments Christmas

The holidays are seriously right around the corner and I am a little bit shocked. I still have my stocking stuffer gift guides coming to the blog and lots of holiday shopping that still needs to be done. YIKES! This weekend will likely be a big holiday party weekend and I was thrilled to be asked back to KATU’s Afternoon Live to share my last minute holiday party tips.

Here is my spot! Scroll below to look for links to some of the items discussed on this clip.

 

Holiday Party Tips

Below are some of the tips I shared in my segment and some great links to more tips, recipes, ideas, and DIYs. I also snapped a few behind the scene photos from yesterdays shoot and have shared them below.

Think of people’s schedules. 

My favorite type of holiday party to host is an Open House style party so that people can come and go as they please and still make it to any other holiday obligations they may have. Brunch time parties, late afternoon, or early evening are great times for an Open House style party. Avoid dinner time as you would want to serve heavier foods and more people have plans during the holidays at dinner time.

Holiday Party Decor Tips - Behind the Scenes at KATU - A Well Crafted Party
The Holiday Party Decor Tips Segment Set-Up before rolling on screen!

Decorate with What You Have 

Use items from your own holiday decor or that will coordinate with your holiday decor to decorate for your holiday party. Use natural elements such as garlands and rosemary Christmas trees as decoration as well. (See the Natural Green & White Holiday Party for more ideas.)

 

Pick a color scheme and use it throughout the party.

Pick a color scheme that coordinates with the holiday decor items you are using and extend that throughout the party to make everything look like it goes together. (Use balloons on stemless beverage-ware to make your glasses stand out and coordinate. This tip has been on a lot of party blogs, but I think the first place I saw it was over on Hostess with the Mostess – click for her tutorial on balloon dipped glasses!)

 

Sharing Party Tips with KATU's Afternoon Live - A Well Crafted Party

Create height at the food buffet. 

Use platters and stands to create a food display at various heights. TIP: If you don’t have a lot of stands and platters fill a vase with holiday decor and set your platter on top. You can also make yourself an awesome (and inexpensive) cake stand with a glass, glue, and plate! (Check out my tutorial on EAT DRINK PRETTY for making your own cake stand.)

Serve bite sized appetizers and just refill your platters throughout the party. 

This not only looks better but it is safer than letting food sit for several hours. Keep platters prepped and in the fridge or in the oven on warm setting so that you can easily replenish. If you are worried about spending the afternoon replenishing platters instead of engaging with your guests farm that chore out to family and friends who ask how they may help. (Check out my favorite holiday appetizers .)

 

 

 

Holiday Drink Bar - Behind the Scenes - A Well Crafted Party

The holiday bar set up before its TV debut!

Set up a Beverage Bar! 

Don’t spend the entire party making your guests drinks. Set out a simple beverage bar or batch drink (punch bowls are totally back in style) and let guests serve themselves. For the holidays I recommend creating a Sparkling Wine bar with additions such as pomegranate seeds, sugared rosemary, sugared cranberries, and your favorite liquor. I love the Marrionberry Vodka from Wild Roots as a festive addition to a glass of sparkling wine. Pour 3/4 oz of Marrionberry Vodka into a glass and top (carefully, it will bubble!) with 5 oz of sparkling wine. Garnish with a sprig of sugared rosemary.

Holiday Party Favor Ideas - A Well Crafted Party

Yes, Give Party Favors.

Party favors are a way to extend your party in the memories of your guests. Give them something to enjoy after the party! My favorite holiday party favor ideas:

  1. Set out little holiday bags or boxes for your guests to fill with sweets. BONUS: Now you     won’t have a ton of leftover sweets from the party!
  2. Give your guests a small bag of stocking stuffers. They can use the ones that they want or they can use them in stockings at home so that they don’t have to go out and buy as much. I’d LOVE for someone to do me the favor of getting some of that type of holiday shopping out of the way.
  3. Give an ornament. Beautiful and small ornaments are a really lovely way for a guest to remember the party year after year.

Check out my NYE Ideas for a Holiday Game Night as well.

 What is the best holiday party that you’ve ever attended? Comment below, I’d love to know!

by
Keep Reading
Load More