There is no better feeling than finally putting all the finishing touches on your new home. After all your hard work and dedication, all you want to do is show your new home off to your closest family and friends. Having a housewarming party is the perfect way to gather your loved ones and walk them through every nook and cranny!

6 Tips for Throwing a Housewarming Party

1. Plan! Plan! Plan!

Deciding what direction you want to take your housewarming party in is essential to the event’s success. First, figure out the date and time of the party. Will the party take place in the afternoon or night time? Then, move on to the specifics of the party, such as food, theme, and location. Will you just offer light appetizers and refreshments for your guests or will you have a full dinner party? Do you want to have a theme for your event? Will the party be focused on the deck or the living room? All these questions should be answered in preparation for your party.

2. Invitations

Make a list detailing who you’ll invite to your party. Set a limit of invitees, based on who you want to see and how many people you can fit in your house. Send out invitations, either through mail or electronically. The new and tech-savvy invite software that everyone is using is Evite. Online invitations allow you to be creative and prevent your guests from losing the invitation. Also, they are free of cost, so you can spend money on other areas of your party. (like food and drinks!)

3. Organizing for Attention

This party is your best chance to show off your house! Bring out your favorite decorations and displays to really make your house pop. A great way to organize these decorations is to place food and drinks around them. For example, place drinks on your refurbished coffee table and appetizers in front of that expensive new art piece. By doing this you can draw more attention and receive more compliments on the furnishings you love.

4. Music

Music is a great way to control the noise level in your home. Have some soft music playing in the background to foster light conversation, or turn it up a bit to get people dancing. Have fun with your music choices and and get creative! Anything from classical music to mellow acoustic covers will be perfect to have playing while everyone is mingling and adoring your new home décor.

5. Timing Your Tours

Although it is great to get everyone together, the main reason all these people are here is to see your new house. Instead of individually taking each guest around your house at the time of their arrival, it may be best to organize one or two times to take groups of visitors on a tour. Having individual tours can be time consuming and will become repetitive after a couple of times. Allotting a specific time, like after all of your guests arrive or after dessert has been served, allows you to avoid being a tour guide the whole night.

6. Clean!

A housewarming party is different than any other gathering you hold at your house. This is your house’s time to shine, so make it as pristine as possible! Every room needs to be tidy, organized, and clean. You can’t hide all of your clutter in one closet for a housewarming party. Many of your attendees are going to want to see every room. So, instead of being caught off guard and freaking out when someone asks you to see the second level of your house, plan accordingly and tidy it up just in case! Read about cleaning your home with as little stress as possible.