If you’re anything like us – you love a good shindig. You love going to a really good event, with good food, good company, the decor is beautiful, and you just feel amazing while you’re there. You almost don’t even want to go home because for that 2 – 4 hours you were enjoying yourself so much. Events can be anything from birthday parties, dinner with your girlfriends, or an event with family. You don’t have to be a good event planner to create a good vibe for your guest. You also don’t have to break the bank and host  at a large event space, or have tons of food and drinks. You can create good vibes for people right from the comforts of your very own home.

Decide On How You Want Your Guest to Feel

Depending on the event – you always want to have your guest in mind during your planning phases. If you want to do something small and intimate, think of how your guest will feel in those intimate settings. That also might change your guest list, because not everyone is into small gatherings. If you’re thinking on a larger scale for a family our big group event, think of the type of atmosphere you’d like your guest to walk in. What does this event say about you as the host? Does it say that you are unorganized, and scrambling all over the place when guest start to arrive? Or, does it say you are a really put together woman ( or man) and from the moment guest walked in they felt at home from all the hospitality your poured out to them.

Pick the Menu

Food is easy, but can get expensive. Based on your guest count – what type of food will be served? Don’t cheat and throw chips and cookies with bottles of wine on the table. You’re better than that. For a smaller gathering put together a really nice cheese plate with different jams and fruit included. Put it next to the drinks because that’s where most of your guest will tend to linger. For larger events you may want to think about food that are easy to feed large amounts, like pizza, sandwiches, spaghetti, etc. In the black community you know a lot of us love ordering the chicken for events because its easy, its filling, and everybody likes it. Now we’re no stranger to the 50piece pans, but switch it up a bit and try something different. Besides catching a vibe at your event, you certainly want your guest to stay full and not run to the nearest McDonald’s when they leave your house because you didn’t feed them.

Some “light” decor

If you listen to our podcast – you know our EIC Ash is a sucker for some candles. That’s not what we meant by saying some “light” decor, we really meant having a little bit of decor goes a long way. But our secret – candles. Candles can make the most boring space look beautiful in some romantic lighting. Candles make the vibe really chill, and it’s relaxing to not only you but your guest. You can also add floral to your setup, as these make easy centerpieces. We often invite the guys to some of our events, and in the beginning thought the floral centerpieces were a little much for them – but they commented on them more than the women! We forget men love beautiful things just as much as we do. Don’t shy away from beautiful decor just because it seems too feminine. Give it the chance to brighten up your space, and really take your event to the next level.

The Chicagolite

Creating an Experience

Try to go above what your guest might be expecting of you. If you typically only order wings and have hard liquor at your events, switch it up and have more wine this time around and do a catered buffet for your guest. Have games ready to be played, and opportunities built into the night where your guest can get to know one another. You are cultivating experiences for your guest when you are forward thinking of opportunities for them to relax, and have a great time.

We are well past the days of a “get together” at your boyfriends friends house. Send a text, set a date, and really commit to creating an experience for everyone. Going to events that make you feel good, and you catch a good vibe from you never forget. It makes you wan’t to go back and do another event at that person’s house because you enjoyed yourself so much. Be the host! You don’t need tons of money to get it together either, and if it helps – have a $15 “bring fee”, so that when your guest arrive, your ask is that they all bring $15 to help pay for all of the food, drinks, and time you put into creating a beautiful, fun, and vibe filled night.