How to throw a holiday party on a budget

The holidays can very quickly add to your expenses and take you off your budget. We all want to ‘host to impress’ when throwing a party or holiday soirée. And this makes it easy to spend more money than needed to impress our guests. However, with all the other costs around the holidays can our bank accounts afford to go all-out on each party?  We’ve put together a couple of helpful tips so that you can host a wonderful holiday party and stick to your budget.Start by creating your holiday party budget! With a budget to guide you, you’re more than likely to make better purchasing decisions when shopping for your party. Evite has a wonderful tool, the ‘Party Budget Estimator,’ which will help you estimate the cost based on the number of people you’re anticipating.Host your party before or after the ‘dinner hour.’ Try a late afternoon party from 3-5PM or start after 7PM. This way your guests won’t expect you to be feeding them as much as they would if the party was during regular dinner hours.Less is more! While we usually start our guest list with many people; think about quality connection over quantity of guests instead.  With less guests, you’re most likely to have more time to spend with each guest; plus, your budget will also remain in check.Keep your menu simple.  Stick to a menu of lighter appetizers since your guests are not expecting a full sit-down dinner.  And instead of stocking the entire bar, introduce your signature cocktail for the night. This offers a fun opportunity to create something special, and won’t keep you bartending all night long either. You can also offer a non-alcoholic version or sparkling water for guests that don’t drink and/or your designated drivers. If your guests have their own favourite drink, ask them to BYOB (there’s no shame in this!).Use what you have. During the holidays we especially want to decorate to the nines! However, we’re suggesting to stick to the less is more principle here too.  First, start with what you have! Even the simplest touches of one type of floral or holiday greens along with a couple of candles can add the perfect ambiance without killing your credit card.  If you think you must have something else to add to your decor, see if you can borrow from a family-member or friend. When all else fails, vases, platters and unique dishes can make for interesting displays for ornaments or a single strand of lights.It’s so lovely to get together and enjoy each other’s company during the holidays and you don’t have to break the bank to do it.