Parties can be stressful if you are the one organizing it. A lot of times, the hostess can find herself attending to party details up to the last minute. Usually, it is a race between getting everything arranged before the guests start trickling in.  It can get horrifying if the guests start to arrive and catch the hostess still in work clothes sans make-up while still attending to the decorations or table settings or appetizers.

The last 15 minutes before your party officially starts can be so agonizing when there is still a load of things to do. Oh, if you can only stop time! Unfortunately, that is one item in your wish list that one can never make real.  There are, however, other ways.  See these 3 stress-busting tips on how to get more organized and how to manage your precious time when you hold your next party.

1. Get a Party-Partner. Find someone who can assist you on the day of the party.  Make sure you get someone who is dependable and able to accomplish the tasks you have for the that day. See who among your family, friends, neighbors or anyone you know who can help you with the preparations. Better to pick someone who you have already worked with or who has a working style that is in synch with you. You may consider yourself an expert party host but there will always be those last-minute trips to the grocery or the florist or the bakeshop.   Having someone you can trust to do these for you will save you time and let you focus on other matters that need attention.

2. Accept Offers of Help. If anyone asks you how they may help, suggest something for them to do. A relative can bring dessert, a friend can bring wine. Your artistic buddy can oversee the decorations and that outgoing friend can take care of your ice-breaker games. More often than not, these friends and relatives will be more than happy to assist you. This will take a load off your work and also save you some of the costs, but best of all; you can use this chance to catch up with one another as you go about doing your pre-party duties.

3. Have a Make-Ahead List.  Write down your things-to-do and see which are the ones you can do ahead of time. Party favors and giveaways can be prepared and stocked days before the event. If you can set the tables and decorations the night before the party, please do so. You can also plan your menu in such a way that some foods can be done a day or more before the event. The key is to try to trim down your tasks and errands on the day of the party so you can simply relax and focus on enjoying the company of your guests and thus truly celebrate in your own party.

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