Hosting a party can be a delightful experience, but it also comes with its fair share of stress. Naturally, your hosting duties don’t solely exist on the day of the event.
From planning to decorating to cleaning to entertaining, you often find yourself with so much to do and not much time to do it. While you may feel inclined to wait and handle tasks for your event the day of (or feel as if you have no choice), there are multiple things you can do the night before to help lessen your stress.
We spoke with a few hosting experts and gathered their tips for what they always do the night before a party to ensure the event is an absolute success.
Review Your Plan
Being the host can be overwhelming, particularly when you aren’t sure where to begin. Shumaila Panhwar, founder of SoCal Event Planners, advises that the first step is to plan before taking any action.
“What always helps is having a game plan for what to conquer!” she says. “Does that mean cleaning? If so, break it down by which areas. Remember to focus on the high-traffic areas, not the rooms guests won’t see or use.”
The night before, review your plan and address any overlooked areas so everything is ready to go tomorrow.
Map Out the Flow
You may have big ideas for your gathering, but you also need to be aware of the space you’re working with. Whether you’re hosting at home, at another person’s house, or in an event space, it’s important to map out the flow and pathways to determine what you can do and how to organize everything.
Some considerations you may have, according to Panhwar, include where the guests will enter, where they will sit, and where the main buffet or food table will be located, which can provide a great starting point for later planning and decorating.
“When you walk through the space from the perspective of the guests and their experience, it makes it easier to determine placement of items and what makes sense best for flow,” Panhwar says.
Curate Micro Stations
When reviewing the layout of your event, you can craft “micro-stations” in different areas throughout the space to help you stay organized and ensure a smooth flow.
“The night before, I arrange small ‘conversation zones’ throughout the space—like a sparkling-water setup, a tiny nibble bowl next to the cocktail area, or a self-serve ice bucket,” says Lisa Sheppard, founder of the lifestyle brand Comfort Diva. “This encourages natural movement and prevents bottlenecks at the bar.”
Set Out Plating the Night Before
Some aspects, like the food, can’t be placed until the day of, but you can set out your serving dishes, trays, bowls, and anything else you’ll be using during the party to make things easier.
“You can arrange the food setup in advance, so it looks great and saves you time the next day,” says Camille McLamb, founder and lead coordinator of Camille Victoria Weddings LLC.
She suggests putting a post-it note on each one with the designated food will be a perfect reminder of everything that needs to make it onto the table.
Do a Basic Test Run
While planning and prepping, it’s easy to get caught up in the concept of your setup. However, if there have been any last-minute additions or changes to your plans since you began prepping, Jessica Sloane, owner of Jessica Sloane Event Styling and Design, suggests taking a moment to run a quick test as a guest to see how everything looks and feels, especially the place settings.
“Be mindful of setting too much on the table,” Sloane says. “If your decor takes over the space, it could create discomfort. So, as you edit, test how your place setting feels. Sit at the table as if you were the guests and imagine navigating passing a side dish or finding your napkin.”
From there, you can make adjustments as needed, and doing it the night before will give you more time to make small changes than waiting until the day-of.
Prep What You Can Before
While it can be tempting to leave some things to the day of your party, Panhwar says your future self will thank you for taking care of as much as you can ahead of time.
“Get the tables, chairs, place settings, and centerpieces set out the night before,” she says. “I even map out the kitchen island with various height risers, bowls, platters, and tongs the day prior, so it makes it easier the day of the event to place food in the containers, while maintaining the aesthetics, quickly!”
She also says that basic cleaning should be taken care of the night before, even if you’re certain you can take care of it the next day: taking out the trash, emptying the sink and dishwasher, and charging your phone or speakers the night before can allow you to focus on hosting and mingling the day of.
Carve Out Time to Prep Yourself
According to our experts, this is one aspect of hosting that is often forgotten. While ensuring your event is ready to go and everything is in place, it’s worth remembering that, as the host, prepping your outfit and accessories (and an idea of your hair and makeup) can save you a ton of hassle rather than trying to throw something together right before.
“You’ve styled your home, ordered or cooked amazing food, but you didn’t think about you!” says Panhwar. “Make sure you already have your outfit picked out, ironed, and placed out with matching jewelry, so on the day, you can step away for a quick moment and be ready.”
Remove Clutter Quickly
“If time is of the essence, and it’s necessary to declutter quickly, you don’t have time to edit,” says Barbara Brock, professional organizer at Barbara Brock Inc.
Naturally, you will want to ensure your space is presentable, but with so much on your to-do list, every extra minute matters.
To quickly declutter your space, Brock suggests keeping an empty tub handy to place unnecessary items or to remove items and place them in a closet that won’t be used during the event.
This can get your space in tip-top shape without requiring you to deep clean your home before guests arrive, and give you more time to focus on the main event.
Focus on the Public Rooms
When cleaning, it can be tempting to overwhelm yourself by trying to clean and decorate every nook and cranny.
However, in many cases, your guests aren’t judging your house the way you are, and their focus will mainly be on the rooms where the event is being held. Brock says that these public rooms should be your priority, and the earlier you can get to them, the better.
“If the living [or] dining area, the kitchen, and wherever you think family and friends will spend time together need decluttering, addition of new accents, or refurbishing, do it as soon as possible,” says Brock.
Make Last-Minute Touches
While last-minute touches may be something you prefer to leave until the day of, you may be surprised by just how many last-minute tasks will be on your plate. It’s always safe to assume you’ll forget something, or that something may go wrong and need your attention, so go ahead and get any small tasks out of the way the night before.
According to Sloane, last-minute touches like picking the music, setting the volume, and pre-setting the lights (if you have a dimming function) can all be done beforehand rather than in the minutes before the party begins.