5 Tips To Be a Hostess with the Mostest this Holiday!

how to win the holiday Hostess award this season: Our 5 best tips

Follow these five key tips to be the Hostess with the Mostest. The Design Twins share their absolute best advice to host sensational events with Wente Wines.

Being a hostess is like giving a precious, living gift. Opening up your home to people you care about is an act of love. So being a good hostess is serious business. Well, not really, but you know what I mean. Being a good hostess is important because we care about the people we are inviting. It took Jodie and me years of “adulting” before we felt comfortable as hostesses. We always felt pressure for everything to be perfect, as if Martha Stewart herself might walk in at any moment and need to be impressed. Above all we make sure that we include Wente wines at every gathering to make our friends feel special.

 

Well, Jodie and I have learned a lot over the years, and we are happy to say we have become calm, confident and capable in the role of hostess. We love showing our friends and families that we care in this way, and we can’t wait to share our best tips so you too can be a Hostess with the Mostest this Holiday.

The Design Twins’ 5 Best Tips for Being a Happy Hostess

1. Keep it Simple
2. Plan Ahead
3. No Fuss Hostessing
4. Focus on Your Guests
5. Stay Calm

 

1. Keep Things Simple

• Buffet style is key to keeping things simple.
• Buy store bought items and dress them up. Or, do what I did and make a pretty Bundt cake out of a boxed muffin mix.
• Buy pre-cut fruit and veggies.
• Light and healthy is appreciated and simpler.
• Let your talents shine.
  • If desserts are your specialty showcase that talent.
  • Do you love to decorate? Put your best efforts into presentation.
  • Not a seasoned cook? Order catered or buy pre-made from the deli or specialty store.

 

 

2. Plan Ahead

• • Begin by thinking about who’s coming.
  • Next, set the menu.
  • After you have the menu, take inventory of what you have already.
  • Next, make your shopping list.
  • Select your wine. You can find Wente at your local major retailer or online from Wente Vinyards.
  • Finally, don’t forget the flowers.

 

 

3. No Fuss Hostessing

• Create a no-fuss party that allows you to really enjoy your guests.
• If you are serving warm food create a warming set-up.
• Make sure your buffet is completely set up with all foreseeable needs.
• Create a self-serve drink station with everything available including backup supplies
• Hand select your wines from Wente Vinyards. A special wine is always the benchmark of a great occasion and is sure to be noticed (and appreciated) by your friends.
• Pair your wine choices with the foods but be open to personal preferences. Wente offers a large selection of red and white wines in different varietals to please every palette. For our daytime elegant brunch with friends we chose Wente Riva Ranch Chardonnay. For a red, try Wente Carles Wetmore Cabernet Sauvignon or my husband’s favorite, Wente Riva Ranch Pinot Noir.
• Enlist help, divide and conquer. Everyone should have their roles clearly defined before the party begins so no one is overworked, and everyone can enjoy the most important aspect: each other.

 

 

 

4. Focus on Your Guests

• First: Focus on giving attention, not getting attention.
• Next: Put yourself in your guests’ shoes (put on their mindsets).
• Finally: Give them what they want, not what you want.
• Not only will these intentions serve to make your guests happy they will create the best relaxed mindset so you can be a generous, happy hostess.

 

 

5. Stay Calm

•  Finally, in order to create a relaxed, happy event make sure you address your own needs before (and during) the party.
  • Be rested
  • Eat well
  • Stay hydrated
• Remain calm. If the hostess is stressed out no one will enjoy themselves
• Keep everything in perspective
• Don’t worry about approval or judgement, i.e. “What will they think of my dirty carpet, clutter, etc., etc.”
• Don’t shoot for perfection
• You don’t need to be Martha Stewart. Just be you.

 

Being the Best Guest

How about a quick tip about “Being the Best Guest.” Don’t forget to arrive with a bottle of your host’s favorite Wente wine. For the holidays, package it as part of a personalized gift basket–just like my sweet friend Janine did. She arrived at my home for our elegant Friends’ Holiday Brunch with the cutest gift basket ever. Of course she brought me my favorite bottle of Wente wine, Wente Riva Ranch Chardonnay. And, of course, we had to open it up right away and toast to a wonderful year of friendship and blogging that we have shared together. Sharing passions with friends is the best, just like sharing a bottle of your favorite wine. The party was such a nice way to take time out of our busy, busy schedules and celebrate together.

Learn more about Wente Vineyards, the Wente family heritage and their journey.

Recipe for Hostess Success

You’ll notice that every one of these tips serves to create the end result of a calm and relaxed hostess. Relax and your guests will relax. They don’t want to see you working too hard, because then they feel like they should be working to help you instead of just enjoying time together.

Therefore, when you:

• properly plan
• create a no-fuss set-up
• don’t worry about perfection
• don’t seek approval
• and focus on your guests

then you will absolutely positively be the Hostess with the Mostest at all your events.

Head to our holiday decorating guide to Design Your Most Festive Table Ever.

And for even more Holiday Decorating Inspiration be sure to take our Holiday Home Tours.

Here is Jodie’s and Here is Julie’s

Happy celebrating,