When you finally move into your new home, you are going to want to show it off to your friends and family. You might also want to take the opportunity to meet your new neighbors; it’s always good to make a great first impression. Planning your party out well in advance is a useful tip because you really are going to be super busy before, during, and after your move. Here is some idea of how to throw a wonderful housewarming party.
Handwritten Notes
It’s always worth taking the time to produce a handwritten note for your invitations. You can get the majority of the invitation printed but adding a personalized note at the bottom is a lovely touch that will show people how excited you are to have them over to your home. Adding this handwritten element (or even writing the whole thing with no printed parts) can make a big difference to your turnout.
Include Directions
You might not even think about adding directions to your housewarming invitation in this day of satellite navigations systems and online maps. However, including a simple, hand-drawn map makes your guest feel as though you have gone the extra step to make sure they can get to you. If they’ve never been to your new place before, and if they’ve never even been to your city or town, they’ll appreciate the extra help. Don’t forget to let them know about the parking situation too so that they are prepared.
Allows Plus Ones
If you are keen to meet new people, your housewarming party is the perfect chance to do just that. Encourage friends and coworkers to bring a plus one, or an additional friend if they would like. It makes those people feel much more at ease, and it gives you the opportunity to meet people you might not otherwise have got to meet. This can really help when you’re in a new place, and you don’t know many people.
Finger Food
It’s unlikely you’re going to want to create a sit-down dinner party kind of affair in your new place – although that’s not out of the question. However, most people will want to be able to mingle with their guests and chat about the new house or apartment. You’re going to want to discuss the area with your neighbors and find out more about them. You don’t really want to get stuck in the kitchen making a three-course meal, even if it going to be delicious. The key to serving food at a housewarming party is to use finger food at a buffet. You can cook and bake everything ahead of time and lay it out on a table with paper plates and napkins, allowing everyone to help themselves when they feel like it. You’ll only need to circulate to keep the drinks topped up in that case.
Barbecue
As an alternative to a finger food buffet, you could put on a barbecue if the weather is good and you have the outside space for it. Although this is technically cooking, it’s the kind of cooking that everyone can get involved in and you can still easily chat with people are you’re flipping burgers or making awesome hot dogs.
Have A Theme
Housewarming parties can sometimes be awkward things if most of the guests don’t really know one another. By giving the event a theme, you can offer a variety of icebreakers to make people feel a lot more comfortable. If you are moving in on a holiday weekend you can use that (Halloween or Christmas are great examples). You can decorate your new home to match the time of year and even lay out some party games that can be played in a variety of ways. Examples include a scavenger hunt, an Escape the Room game, or icebreaker games. Or what about a costume party? People will love to dress up and laughing and talking about their costumes is one of the best ways for them to start talking to people they don’t know.
Create A Playlist
Every party needs an amazing playlist so don’t get so busy that you forget to make one. You only need to spend a few minutes on your smartphone, tablet, or laptop to create a fantastic playlist that will last the whole day or evening and will get people up and dance. In fact, if you want to really encourage people to dance you can move some furniture out of the way to have a temporary dance floor.
Hide The Gifts
Unless you specify ‘no gifts’ on your invitations, some people will arrive at something for your new home. Others won’t. It depends on their own definition of a housewarming party and what the etiquette is. So that those who don’t bring something for you don’t feel awkward or embarrassed, it’s best to hide the gifts that do come away somewhere. You can open them the next day when your home is calm and tidy again. Don’t forget to write thank you notes to those who brought you something lovely.
Individual Tours
Everyone arriving at a housewarming party is going to want to be given the grand tour of your new place, so that’s exactly what you need to do. Don’t wait for a large group to cut down on the number of times you need to wander around your home – take everyone individually as they come. It might be dull for you, but it does give you the opportunity to chat with your guests on their own and point out things that might be of particular interest to them.
Tidy And Clean
Due to the fact that people are definitely going to want to see all the rooms in the house or apartment, you’re going to need to make sure everything is as clean and tidy as possible. Because of this, you should never organize a housewarming party as soon as you move in; there will be boxes and garbage all over the place. Wait until you’re ready to really show your home off.
Lucy has been working in the fashion industry for six years. A dedicated follower of all things fashion and beauty, she is passionate about new industry developments. Lucy is now a full time freelance fashion writer.
