Throwing a housewarming party isn’t necessary. After leaving your old home and saying goodbye to your old friends, you’re not in the mood to have a party. However, it would help if you took the time to celebrate with your new neighbors. It’s your official welcome to the neighborhood. You also want to start with the right foot forward. If you don’t throw a housewarming party, everyone would think you’re a snob. The first thing you need to secure for the party is drinking water. Everyone needs to have it. If your utilities are already up and running, it’s good. The problem is that you still couldn’t rely on your tap water. You need the Berkey water filter so that everyone can drink clean water. Apart from ensuring the drinking water, these are the other things to do in preparation for the party.
Send invitations
It would be nice to invite the people in the neighborhood personally. You want them to feel welcomed for this party. If you know other people in the area, but not in the neighborhood, you can invite them through an online message. There’s no need to work hard on creative invitations. You have plenty of other things to do. For your officemates, you can make announcements in the office. They might come if available on the given date.
Make it as light as possible
A housewarming party isn’t like any other party you’ve thrown in the past. You also don’t know anyone in the area. You’ve invited people over as a welcoming gesture. Don’t even think about having a theme. Not everyone feels comfortable with that idea. Again, most of the attendees are strangers to you. Don’t place them in such a tough situation. These guests might decline the invitation if they have to find something to wear following the theme.
Prepare simple dishes
Housewarming parties usually have guests bringing something over. Make it clear to everyone that there’s no need to bring anything. Their presence is more than enough. You will prepare food for everyone. You can request a catering service so you won’t have to work hard. If you’re going to prepare the dishes yourself, you can come up with simple meals. There’s no need to impress anyone. Besides, if you’re a working mom, your cooking skills might be nothing compared to the housewives you’ve invited. It would be awkward if you put a lot of effort into food preparation, and no one loved it.
Have an open bar
Instead of focusing on food, keep yourself busy in setting up the minibar. Perhaps, it’s the reason why your guests will come. Again, you have plenty of strangers in the same room, and there would be awkward interactions. The only way to prevent it is by promising an open bar. People become more confident in interacting with one another when they already had a glass or two. You might also need one if problems start piling up.
Keep your house clean
The goal of the housewarming party isn’t to impress anyone. Your guests already understand that you have just arrived, and didn’t have enough time to decorate. You don’t need to finish decorating your place, but you should at least keep it clean. Keep all closed boxes in one room instead of letting them scatter all over the living room. Make sure everyone gets a seat, and all the utensils are ready for the meals. You can hire a temporary cleaning staff to help you get through the party.
Make sure there’s music
You need to have good music, at least. It’s an essential element of any party. Prepare your sound system so that everyone will be in the mood upon entering your house. You can also throw some lights to make the place more festive. However, there’s no need to pressure yourself to have the best decorations. If you don’t have time to set them up, you can stick with whatever is available.
Prepare some souvenirs
It might take time to prepare the souvenirs, but they’re a beautiful gesture. You asked everyone to take a night off to be with you. Some of your friends and neighbors might already have plans, but they canceled to celebrate with you. Personalize the message, too, if you already know them. The guests will appreciate your efforts
Give some of your guests a tour
If your house is quite big, you can take some of your friends on tour. Of course, you only select the people who will have the tour privilege. You still don’t know everyone whom you invited to the party.
Prepare some conversation starters
If you’re not into parties, you might need help with conversation starters. As the host, you have to entertain your guests. Without a conversation starter, it might be awkward. After the greetings, you don’t know what to say next. Invite a close friend to help you in this regard. You might need someone to back you up if you have plenty of guests to deal with. Your children can also help. Their charm is good enough to make your guests smile.
Prepare a speech
Since you invited to many guests, you might not thank all of them individually. You can at least prepare a speech, and everyone will hear you express your gratitude. You can mention the special people who made the party possible. You can also tell your guests that your doors are open if anyone needs help. Of course, you hope that they will do the same if it’s otherwise.
Keep your party as simple as possible, so you don’t stress out preparing for it. No one expects you to put together the best possible party, especially if you only have a few weeks to do so. The important thing is that you make every person feel welcome in your house. It also allows you to build friendships that could last a lifetime. It happened in your previous home, and it could happen again.
