Hosting a party in your own home

I planned and organised my own birthday party in January in my home, which I’ve always wanted to do.  I decided I was going to do this at the beginning of December to be extra organised, I sent out invites around this time. My birthday falls so shortly after Christmas, I had to have everything planned which was key in making the party happen.

I loved the look of the flower walls that were used at events as a backdrop for photos and found a company in Glasgow that you can hire and buy from. I also provided cocktails for a cocktail tree which guests helped themselves to and made a sweet and savoury grazing board. In this blog post I have included where I got all decoration from, including entertainment decoration and ideas for food/ drink.

Dress code - When planning a party, a dress code is recommended to help guests choose what to wear. I made mine quite formal.

Entertainment – always make sure theres something for guests to enjoy/ play. I have a pool room and bar area that’s always easy for guests to enjoy and apart from cleaning has minimal effort in organising before hand. Otherwise, organise/ create games and always play music.

Decoration

I had seen the trend of the flower walls starting when celebrities started using these at their own parties, I think flowers look so fresh and pretty in a home, whilst being feminine and girly. So when I realised I could hire an artificial wall I was so excited for this idea. I hired a fantastic large flower wall (which I’m now thinking about buying) from flowerpowerevents alongside a mirror which can be engraved with any writing you want. It was so pretty and fun for guests to take photos in front of which provided entertainment and made the night more memorable. When ordering the flower wall you can pick from a variety of different colours, she even has different packages that you can have with different props. Make sure you are able to cater to a 6ft flower

wall, and a space that the wall can sit in front of. The pricing for the wall and mirror is so reasonable, including mounting and collection, this company is highly recommended!

I also bought confetti balloons from the website, Ginger Ray and normal latex balloons from a local shop which hung on string in another room. I had a larger balloon from a gift shop in my home town called Treasured that I designed before my birthday, that is an extra special  feature that’s nice to have on your birthday which lasts for weeks after.  I picked feathers in the balloon which were really gorgeous with different shades of pink. Make sure to look at Ginger Ray for banners and other events, it’s such a good website for occasions, like weddings, hen nights, Christmas etc.

Food and Drink

I really liked the look of the grazing boards, they are good for bigger crowds and there is always something that everyone will like. I made my own with sweet and savoury items, I’d recommend to use food that is to be served cold so you don’t have to keep heating it up.

You will need

- Chopping board

-  Favourite cheeses and cold meats with condiments

- Chocolate variety

- Fruit

Simply place the food on the board working from the inside out, keeping items close together. A  grazing board is good for guests to pick at throughout the night which sat on my living room table.

French Martini for Cocktail Tree (glasses and tree bought from a wholesaler).

The cocktail tree was ideal to impress guests and for them to help themselves to as they arrive. It looks really affective with champagne flutes or any other cocktail, just mark sure you have enough of your favourite beverage or ingredients for cocktails as it holds up to 12 glasses.

For 1 cocktail, you will need

- 25ml vodka

- 25ml chambord

- 75ml pineapple juice

Shake all ingredients in a Boston shaker with ice and serve in a martini glass, then add to the tree.

Birthday Cake

My friend (sweetgcakes) on Instagram made my amazing eye catching birthday cake, she is so talented and I was so impressed with this cake. It was topped with all my favourite sweets and chocolates, she made it so personal which I loved, and had compliments on it the full night.

Most of all, when hosting your own party make sure you enjoy the night with family and friends and cater it to what you like and what’s suitable for your home.