Housewarming party tips
Moving home is one of life’s most stressful experiences ‐‐ so when you successfully move into your new pad, it’s worth celebrating. Housewarmings are a great way to show off your abode to friends and family ‐‐ and, if you’ve moved into a new neighbourhood, holding a housewarming can be a nice way to meet your neighbours and introduce yourselves to the community.
Don’t wait for perfection
You don’t need to wait until your belongings are fully unpacked and your home is fully decorated to hold a housewarming party. In fact, some would argue that it’s better to welcome a large group of people round to your house before you lay those brand‐new carpets down. People will expect to see a half‐dressed house in the knowledge that you’ve just moved in ‐‐ and they won’t mind at all.
Give the grand tour
Everyone at your housewarming party will be dying to see what every room in your house looks like ‐‐ so arrange a grand tour for all of your guests! If you’re having a lot of people round, separate people into groups and give a number of tours. It won’t take long and, once you’ve got this out of the way, people will relax and mingle.
Sweet signpost
According to an American tradition, the display of a yellow ribbon is a sign of loyalty to family, friends or loved ones who are welcome home. Attach yellow ribbon or balloons to your new front door to welcome in all of your guests ‐‐ apart from anything else, it’s a useful way to show which is the party house.
Introductory plans
Your guests may be a mixture of old friends and new neighbours. Make sure you introduce people to each other to help the icebreaking along ‐‐ it sounds simple, but making sure people feel a little more comfortable with each other can really make your party a success.
Keep it simple
If you’ve only just moved, the chances are that you’re still feeling a little frazzled — and you may well have more work to do. Don’t increase your workload by laying on an overly fancy do. Stick to simple food and drinks which are easy to prepare — stock up on quiches, pizzas and ready-made salads which require next to no work. Pies and a large fruit salad make for a simple dessert.
Going for games?
It isn’t necessary to arrange a raft of games and activities for your housewarming party. After all, people are there to meet you and each other and to see what your house looks like. There’s no reason to detract from that — housewarming parties should be as relaxed and informal as possible!
Forging links
Don’t underestimate the importance of a housewarming party if you’re new to an area. You may feel strange asking people you don’t know to come over, but it’s a worthwhile exercise. A little informal networking can help to start new friendships. Make sure you also get valuable information about your area at your housewarming — ask your new neighbours where the best schools, shops and amenities are and see what insider info they can give you.
