All right ladies- with birthdays, holidays, and spring festivities coming up, you might be thinking about hosting your next get together. If you’re like me, you love being the hostess and decorating your space to get your friends together. But, doing this all the time can add up and start to become expensive! As the resident party-planner in my group I’ve gathered plenty of tricks to keep your hosting affordable. Here are some tips on how to host on a budget!
5 Tips for Hosting on a Budget
- Save decorations from each holiday or season to reuse- My roommate and I have storage bins that are labeled for each season and we keep them in the closet to pull out when we need them! Why throw away your extra themed straws, plates, or napkins when you can use them again?
- Shop at stores like TJ Maxx and HomeGoods for décor- These stores always have discounted party goods- especially for each season! I’ll also get cute wall décor, signs, or bar cart accessories here that I can use for multiple occasions.
- Make it BYOB or a pot luck- You’re already hosting everyone at your home, so you shouldn’t have to provide all of the food and beverages as well! Ask your friends to bring their favorite drink or dish to share with the group. You can even have a theme (ex: everyone make a dessert or everyone bring their favorite bottle of wine).
- Go to Trader Joe’s for snacks– Why is cheese SO expensive at regular grocery stores?! Trader Joe’s has a sneaky selection of tasty cheese that are almost half the price. Want to take your party to the next level? Grab some different cheese from TJ’s and make a platter. Your friends will think you spent a lot of time and money getting this together.
- Choose low cost foods for a large group- If you’re hosting a dinner party, don’t get stuck making expensive dishes. Your friends will be just as happy with a yummy pasta or fried rice dish that you can make in bulk! Things like pasta and rice are less expensive and easy to buy in bulk.
A few other things I keep in mind during hosting are the lighting, music, and activities. I always make sure to set the ambience with candles and soft lighting. Depending on the group vibes, you can set a playlist to have on in the background- every party is better with music! Another option is to have an aux cord on hand and your let your friend who thinks they’re a DJ take over.
Last but not least, having a few activities on hand can be great if there’s a lull in conversation. Some fun options are trivia, charades, or card games. As silly as it sounds, your friends will probably get really into whatever game you play!
So when you’re hosting your next party, make sure to think smart and find little ways to save money! Have any other tips you swear by? Let me know below!
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*image via Pinterest