Thanksgiving Party Planning
Author: Patrick Large
So, you've been asked to or are thinking about hosting a Thanksgiving party to celebrate the holiday festivities this years. Hopefully you've given yourself enough time to prepare as Thanksgiving can be quite the event depending on the setup and the amount of guests that you will be having over to your home or wherever you have selected for your party. The first step in any good party is the planning phase. Taking the time to really think about all the choices that go into a Thanksgiving party ahead of time can really help cut down on the stress and hassle later and will have you better prepared should anything go awry when the big day comes.
One of the first things to decide is whether or not your event is going to be a traditional, formal or casual one. This selection will have a lot of influence on the setup and style of your party. The next thing to factor in during the planning stages is who will be invited. Is this family, friends, co-workers or a mixed-company event. This choice will probably go hand in hand with the level of formality of your party. Families tend to be more traditional or formal, friends tend to be casual and co-workers can be any of these depending on you, the host's comfort level.
Thanksgiving party invitations may be appropriate for formal Thanksgiving parties, but can also be a fun things to do for family and casual parties as well, particularly if you have children and want them to participate in a task. Your invitations can be simple and elegant, reflecting the colors of the autumn season or they can be bright and fun with images of pumpkins, turkeys, pilgrim hats, cornucopias or simply fall leaves. Put all the valid information, the address, a phone number in case directions are needed, the time you are able to being allowing guests in, and perhaps most importantly, when you expect Thanksgiving dinner to begin. Optional things are formality level if required, and even possibly costumes, if you go the really wacky route.
Your decorations and place-settings will follow along with the themes you have already begun to establish with your decisions on formality and invitations. The dominant colors, if you need a refresher on the season, are browns, greens, oranges and yellows primarily; a reflection of the fall colors outside your door. A formal Thanksgiving dinner place-setting can use fine china, or other fine plates with light accent colors of those mentioned above. Many stores sell excellent holiday-themed ware. If you've gone the really casual route, thick paper plates may even work, providing they can hold all the good food! Party balloons and like wouldn't be out-of-place for a children's party or very informal Thanksgiving gathering either. Standard decorations would be miniature pumps, cornucopias and gourds; these work for any type of party.
When you have all of this planned out you can then focus on the food. There are plenty of resources to help you plan the perfect Thanksgiving feast, but really, the standards work well here. Turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, cranberries and pumpkin pie for desert. If the thought of planning and executing the party and preparing and presenting all of the food seems overwhelming, don't stress. It has become more and more common for Thanksgiving parties to have catered food. Thanksgiving catering will take care of the food and, depending on your company, the place-settings and utensils , as well as simple beverages. This allows you to focus on your decorating, your party space and your friends and family who have come to share in this holiday experience with you. Thanksgiving catering is available for weekends and days prior to and after the actual holiday itself. Some companies can provide staff and food delivery on Thanksgiving day and others will provide food and container delivery only.
Either way, with some help and proper planning, you're sure to have a Thanksgiving party that will please your guests and yourself and be remembered until next year, when you'll probably do it all over again!
Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/food-and-beverage-articles/thanksgiving-party-planning-5306647.html
About the Author
Patrick Large performs freelance writing for Portland Catering Company. A northwest premiere provider of Portland Holiday Catering service and extended catering work for Weddings, Special Events and Corporate luncheons and dinnners.
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