How To Host A Party In A Small Space

This is the season for lots of cookies and eggnog, and tipsy parties with friends and family alike. But what do you do if you have a small apartment?  You can still have a great get together. Just follow these tips!

#1: Rearrange Your Furniture

When you prepare for a larger party, try and move stuff from your living room to other rooms like your bedroom. You should take out all the extra clutter like TV stand, TV, carpet, and any extra clutter that may have made its way onto dining room table and your kitchen island. You should maximize the amount of space in the room you're entertaining in. You need less stuff and more places for people to sit or stand comfortably.

#2: Be Mindful of Temperature

It gets hot when you have a ton of people in a small space. The best way to cool things down is to turn on the AC and turn off the oven about one hour before your party is supposed to start. If you want you could also crack the window open and leave a fan on in the room you are not entertaining in, so people can find some respite if things get too hot.

#3: Designate a Spot for Your Guests' Stuff

One very crucial rule if you're entertaining in a small space. Keep a corner or bed for people to put their coats and purses on during the party. Or get an extra coat hanger at the hallway, to reduce the clutter at entry and exit time!

 #4: Limit the Number of Utensils Needed for Food

There are always a ton of snacks and drinks for the holiday parties, which might produce a ton of waste or excess clutter during the party.  You should try to find snacks that you just use a napkin for instead of a plate like a lots of finger foods. If you are not using non-disposable cups, always make sure your sink or dishwasher is empty, so things don't pile up too much on tables. Examples:

• Baked ham & Cheese Rollups

• Cheese ball bites

• Mini Mac & Cheese bites

• Cream Cheese Sausage balls

#5: Spread the Snacks Around Your Home

People tend to congregate around food — so at a party, it's good to spread the snacks out to avoid a bottleneck situation in your small apartment. Use your dining room table and coffee table to spread things around a bit, and find it very helpful.

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Easy Christmas Pudding

Easy Christmas Pudding

Ingredients:

100g Sultanas
50g Dried cranberries
75g Chopped figs
75g Chopped dates
75g Halved glace cherries
30g Chopped crystallized ginger
120ml Dark rum
75g Walnuts, roughly chopped
100g Fresh white breadcrumbs
1 Heaped tbsp mixed spice
200g Molasses sugar
2 tbsp black treacle
50g Self raising flour
100g Shredded suet
1 Lemon’s zest
1 orange’s zest
1 Bramley apple cored and grated
2 large eggs

Method:

Soak rum and fruit overnight.
Mix everything together and pour into 1.2L basin.
Steam for 5 hours.

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How to Spend Less on Holiday Shopping

We all would like to give beautiful presents to the people we love. But how do we survive the holiday shopping season without busting our budget or going crazy. Here are some tips for saving money and staying sane while navigating holiday shopping madness.

Make a List

Write down everyone you plan to buy a gift for, no matter how small the gift may be. Include ideas of what to give each person, along with the maximum amount you’re willing to spend. Don’t forget to list the people who will receive holiday tips, such as your doorman, babysitter, and mail carrier. This will help you manage your holiday budget.

Start Early

Don’t wait until after Thanksgiving to start buying holiday gifts. Keep your eyes open all year round for items friends and family would like; it’s often when you’re not looking for something specific that you stumble across the perfect gift for Dad or your best friend Jenny. Once December hits, you’ll be glad that you already have some people crossed off your list. Just make sure to keep all your advance gifts in a designated (and hidden, if necessary) spot so that you don’t forget a purchase you made months in advance.

Do Online Research

If you’re unsure of which specific item to buy (for example, you want to buy your husband a digital camera but don’t know what brand or model is best), search for reputable online reviews. You’ll have to pay a small subscription fee, but Consumerreports.org has hundreds of expert reviews on everything from laptops to baby strollers to breakfast cereals. Or check sites with user reviews and ratings, such as Amazon.com or Cnet.com, to find out which products have the most positive feedback. To find the best online price, use a comparison shopping site, such as Pricegrabber.com.

Hit Up Black Friday (If You Dare)

If you’re looking for great deals and aren’t afraid of battling large crowds, the day after Thanksgiving is a shopping must. Get a head start on fellow shoppers by checking a website like Blackfriday.org before the big day. The site compiles Black Friday ads from various stores and updates the information as it becomes available, allowing you to plan out which stores to hit and what products you intend to buy. Some stores even offer advance “Black Friday” sales before Thanksgiving, so it’s worth it to peruse the listings early. Be warned, though—some so-called “Black Friday” deals aren’t any cheaper than the regular sale price, so do some extra research before you camp out in the store parking lot at 2 a.m.

Take Advantage of Cyber Monday

A spin-off of Black Friday that debuted in 2005, Cyber Monday is reputedly the biggest online shopping day of the holiday season—and accordingly, many online retailers will offer special discounts on their products. It takes place the Monday after Black Friday, though you can find online bargains all year long at Cybermonday.com, the official Cyber Monday website. On the actual day, the site will feature extra discounts and hourly specials to further entice online shoppers. To stay even more in the know during the holidays, sign up to receive emails from your favorite stores to get notice about sales and insider-only deals.

Do It Yourself

There’s an abundance of homemade pickles, hand-knit hats, and handcrafted stationary these days, thanks to a growing obsession with all things crafty, artisanal, and homespun. If you’re creatively inclined, avoid mall madness altogether and bake a batch of cookies, sew personalized tote bags, or make beautiful earrings for friends and family. If you need to learn a new skill, consider classes in your neighborhood or invest in a how-to book—there’s one for just about every craft out there.

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