This year, resolve to add the joys of hospitality to your holiday celebration. Practiced properly, hospitality is an art and a ministry-and it gives more to the giver than the recipient.
During the holidays, stretch a little. Reach out to the people around you, and move outside your comfort zone. Invite the new neighbors to a pick-up dinner with your family. After church, introduce yourself to the older couple you don’t know well. Encourage your teens to bring their friends home for a cookie bake, and enjoy a noisy evening getting to know your children’s friends.
Hospitality isn’t about house, food or furniture. It’s about heart. This holiday season; open the door to your heart, just a crack.

Try this 10-point holiday party game plan:
1. Set the date. Be creative! Holiday parties don’t necessarily have to take place on the two Saturdays before Christmas, or even during the busy pre-holiday period. Some family’s celebrate their annual holiday bash the first weekend after January 1. Some carve out the Tuesday evening between Christmas and New Years Day for their special dinner party. Schedule your party around a less-traditional date, and guests are much more likely to be able to attend.
2. Make a Master Guest List. The single most important piece of paper for party planning is the guest list. List guests, and record acceptances and regrets. A party planner must know who and how many will be attending. Print Party Planning Forms from the Organized Christmas Forms Library, including a party budget, guest list and. party planner form.
3. Get the word out early. The holiday season is a busy time. Make sure your guests know about your party in time to attend. Send invitations at least 4 weeks early for holiday parties.
4. Plan food and drink. What refreshments will be offered at your party? Start a party menu list. One important bit of information is to plan serving sizes. How many of each appetizer should you include for each guest? Folks on the West Coast tend to take only a nibble of everything, but in the South, food is much more important. As a general rule? Plan for ten total appetizers per guest, but be prepared to ratchet that number up or down depending on where you live. Same principle applies to beverages.
5. Rehearse your recipes! Would-be hostesses can be seduced by the power of print. Don’t be caught trying new recipes from holiday cooking magazines on party day! If you’re going to serve a recipe you’ve never made before, be sure you test it before the party. Better, keep things simple, using tried-and-true favorites. A holiday party is no time to debut fancy recipes. What’s hum-drum to you will be new and interesting to your guests.
6. Map the party. Decide where you’ll set up beverages, food, and decorations. Try to space food and drink so that guests don’t knot up around one table or in one room. Spread things out, and everyone will be more comfortable. If you need to rearrange or remove furniture, make a note now so you can delegate the job on Party Day.
7. Make your house party-friendly. Too many times, party-givers succumb to a frenzy of cleaning and home improvements. Instead, clean only the public areas of the house, and forget about overkill like cleaning carpets and drapes. Only exception? Bathrooms. Make sure bathrooms are sparkling, as this is the area where guests will get a close look at your home. Have a coat closet or hanging rack available for outerwear and handbags. Store delicate bric-a-brac that could be broken if bumped or jostled. Provide lots of napkins and coasters. Make it easy for guests to have fun!
8. Smooth the path to Party Night with a countdown plan. Counting back from the time of the party, plan how you’ll get the work done. Think through everything you’ll need to do to prepare for the party and schedule each chore. Set aside time for shopping, to prepare appetizers, do any final cleaning, and set up beverage centers. Look hard at your list, and DOUBLE the time allotted to each chore. On Party Day, you’ll be glad you built in extra time for yourself.
9. Enjoy your party! Once the doorbell rings, resolve to let go of logistics and enjoy your guests. Wherever you are in the preparation process, stop right there and let the party happen. Don’t fuss around doing the last bits of this and that. Your guests would rather visit with you than eat that one last tray of baked hors d’oeuvres.
10. Handle mishaps with grace. Every host/hostess in the world has had disasters, large or small, during a party. How you respond to problems determines whether your guests are made comfortable or are embarrassed. Someone spills red wine on a white carpet? A hospitable host/hostess smiles as he/she quickly dumps salt on the stain, reassures their guests and moves on. Somebody who grabs towels and carpet cleaner and fusses and moans makes everyone uncomfortable.