By Alisa Bangerter – Studio 5 Party and Idea Correspondent
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General Ideas and Tips:
• An open house can be held for adults only or for families.
• Choose a theme that invitations, food and décor can be based around.
• If you are hosting a large open house, think about hiring someone to help replenish food and to help entertain the children if needed. A teenager might be the perfect choice for this. It would help free up your time to mingle with guests.
• Have music playing in the background to help set the mood. Also music playing outside as guests come to your door would add a nice touch.
• Line your outdoor walkways with luminaries or other lights to welcome guests. If you are inviting guests that may not know each other, provide simple nametags.
• Send home guests with a CD of your favorite Christmas music.
• Have a banner on the wall for guests to sign as they arrive – or have everyone sign an ornament and hang it on a tree.
• Pin jingle bells on the edge of a tablecloth, napkins, or around door handles. This will add a festive sound.
• Hire someone to play piano or a hire a small musical group.
• Have an old Christmas movie playing in an area that guests can sit and watch. If children attend the open house, have a separate area with easy Christmas crafts, coloring projects or games that will entertain them.
• Have a large jar of candy or other holiday items (ornaments, jingle bells, etc.) and let guests guess how many items are in the jar. After the party deliver the jar of candy or a prize to the person whose guess was closest.
• Specify on invitations a certain time when Santa will be arriving. Take each guests photo with Santa.
• Have guests bring decorated cookies or gingerbread houses for display and to be judged for a contest. Make sure all guests get a prize.
Theme Ideas:
• Helping Those In Need – Host an open house for a certain charity, shelter or food pantry or for a neighbor in need. Invite neighbors to bring the money they would have spent on neighbor gifts (in a sealed envelope which can be anonymous) and place in a basket. The host of the open house will then deliver the money to the chosen recipient. Each year rotate families in your neighborhood giving each a chance to be the host. Make sure to look around your neighborhood to see if there is a family that might need extra financial help or even service (such as a new roof, etc.) and maybe that would be a great place to donate the money. Also instead of money you could ask those attending your open house to bring a donation of canned food or items needed for a shelter.
• Christmas Around The World – Host an open house each year based on a different country and their Christmas traditions. Decorate and serve food that would be traditional in that certain country. You could also celebrate several countries and have stations in your home featuring the different food/décor, etc.
• Ornament Swap -Have guests bring an ornament that represents their family for your tree (incorporating a family photo would be nice). Send each guest home with an ornament from your family. Another option would be to have guests bring ornaments for a tree to decorate for someone in need.
• Neighborhood Recipes – Have guests each bring a family recipe for a dessert, appetizer or drink. You could also have them bring a sample of the items to share. Type up the recipes and any fun tid-bits shared with you about the recipe and create a neighborhood recipe book for each family.
• Breakfast/Brunch Open House – Have a breakfast open house. By having a breakfast or brunch you may have more guests that can attend since the holidays are very busy. Have plenty of hot chocolate, fruit, muffins, and pastries. Add touches of the season by adding cranberries to the muffins or pancakes, a pretty ice ring to a punchbowl (with juice), etc. For a seasonal treat, make eggnog French toast or crepes with peppermint and whipped cream filling. The possibilities are endless.
Invitations:
• Creative invitations help bring excitement and anticipation for your open house. Keep it simple but fun. Make sure to check out your local dollar store for inexpensive items that would work as the invitation or part of the invitation.
• An inexpensive idea would be to attach a tag with open house information to a candy cane with a pretty bow.
• Print the invitation on lightweight paper, roll it up and place inside a clear glass ornament. Or another idea might be to write the open house information directly onto a pretty glass ornament with a permanent or glitter pen.
• Replace the fortune inside a fortune cookie with open house information. Wrap in a cellophane bag with a bow and add another tag that states: “We are fortunate to have you as neighbors.”
• Handmade paper snowflakes can be easy and inexpensive invitations that children can help create. Simply write the open house information on the snowflake.
• Tiny gingerbread houses made from crackers, delivered with a note inviting guests to your “holiday open house” would be a fun idea.
• Have Santa hand deliver the invitations to each invited guest.
• Place open house invitation in a small felt stocking. Write the recipients name on the top of the stocking with a glitter pen.
• Wrap invitations in small gift boxes with a tag that says to open immediately.
• Deliver a small pine bough with an invitation attached.
• Deliver a red or green helium balloon with invite attached to ribbon or rolled up inside. These could be tied to door handles.
Food:
• Set up different stations around your home with trays of food and drink.
• Nestle punchbowls in wreaths for a quick and easy presentation.
• Place name cards by food which you have given festive holiday names such as Noel Nog, Dasher Dip, Merry Meringues, etc.
• Place food at different heights using pedestal trays. Small boxes covered with cloths can also create different levels.
• Set up a variety of glass vases, dishes and/or bowls filled with assortments of candy. Have small glassine, paper or cellophane bags near the candy for guests to fill their own bags as a treat to take home. Make sure to have an assortment of ribbon candy, peppermint sticks, candy canes, green and red gumdrops and other traditional holiday candies. This can also double as décor for your party.
• Have a hot chocolate bar. Have several types of hot chocolate plus many additions available such as crushed peppermints, marshmallows, chocolate or caramel bits, flavored whipped creams, etc.
• Place a holiday sticker on each disposable cup or glass. This will help guests remember which cup is theirs if they set it down.
• Have a cookie decorating station or area in your home. Adults like this as much as children. An area for children to sit and decorate small gingerbread houses can help keep them occupied and be a lot of fun.
• Dip the rims of glasses in water and then a mixture of sugars (brown, granulated, sanding, etc.) this is a nice presentation for glasses used for hot cider. Rims of glasses can be decorated with sprinkles, crushed peppermints, colored sugars, etc. depending on your décor or what you are serving. (Rims of glasses will need to be dipped in melted chocolate instead of water to hold heavier items.)
• Create beautiful ice rings for your punch bowl. Freeze fresh cranberries or lemon, lime and orange slices in the ice. Mint leaves also look nice.
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