Holiday Open House

During the Thanksgiving or Christmas holidays is a great time to invite friends and neighbors in for a little fellowship.

An open house does not have to be elaborate to be fun. Set a specific time to begin and end. If you are having lots of fun, be flexible in closing. However, remember you will still have cleanup to do. Near the designated time to close, thank your guests for making the evening special for you and your family.

Decide whether to have open house at Thanksgiving or Christmas. It does not have to be on the exact day.

Plan your refreshments early and make some items ahead of time and freeze them. Keep other items simple.

Watch for sales on paper products so that dishwashing will be kept to a minimum.

Have more than one beverage choice for those guests who do not want caffeine late at night.

Plan fun activities such as:

Take pictures as guests arrive. (When they are developed, send them a copy.)

Try a guessing game with holiday candy in a container. Give a small prize to the one who guesses the closest.

Bake sugar cookies ahead of time and let each person decorate one as they arrive. Have the guest put his or her name on the bottom of the plate before decorating the cookie. Select two people to be judges to select the “most original,” the “most beautiful,” and the “most unique.” (Give small prizes for each category.)

Request guests introduce themselves and tell what their relationship is to the host and hostess. As the guests introduce themselves, ask them to recall the first name of each of the people who have already given their names.

Have guests wear nametags if you have a mixed group of friends. If they are all from your church, this may not be necessary.

Publicly announce something special/unique/funny about a few of your guests and let the others guess whom you are talking about. (Do this one at a time and get permission ahead of time.)

Have a sing-along.

Try not to crowd the evening. Allow time for visiting. If you have first-time visitors in your home, offer a tour of your house.

Include the children in your activities, if they are invited.

Good Christian fellowship is a witness to any unsaved guests who may come. Make them feel welcome.

Have fun!