Have you moved to a new apartment recently? Or replaced outdated furniture in the summer house living room? Or maybe finally finished the bathroom redecoration project? There might be lots of different reasons to celebrate your new home.
Is it ok to invite guests for housewarming after half a year of living in the new home? I’ve noticed people ask this question frequently on the web. The ‘perfect’ time for a housewarming is whenever you want your friends to see your new place and share your happiness about it. Even a recently purchased Xbox can easily become the good enough motive to announce a get-together and call it your housewarming party. Probably the most important thing to remember about any housewarming – it is an informal event, so don’t over think it.
Housewarmings are usually designed for inner circles, such as a group of close friends or family members. If you want more people to see your home, you might want to consider an open house event instead. Open house party means exactly what it says; everybody is welcome to come and see your new premises. Often they are organized by families which recently moved to a new suburban neighborhood. Any open house party is a perfect occasion to meet your new neighbors and introduce your family to them. Friends and relatives are surely welcome to visit you as well, but your main focus at the open house is on getting to know your new acquaintances. It is usual for the people to come and go during open house parties. Expect lots of neighbors dropping by to say hello, congratulating you on the purchase and possibly bringing tasty homemade cookies and pies.
But let’s get back to the case when you want to see fewer guests and spend quality time with them in your new apartment.
If you want all your dear friends to attend the housewarming, make sure to notify the invitees in advance. You can decide to announce the event by phone or by sending letters or emails with an invitation. The best practice would be to do it at least one week before the event.
Very important nuance to keep in mind – housewarming parties are never about gifts’ collecting. By no means can you ask your guests to bring a present with them. All the more so, forget about creating any gift registries. If your guests wonder whether they should bring some wine or snacks, it is better to say that you have it covered and the only most important thing for you is their attendance.
The majority of guests will bring a little something anyway; bottle of nice champagne, a tasty desert, decorative aroma candle or a set of wine glasses. So if you are invited to a housewarming party, you should consider bringing something with you. It might be a neutral box of candies or a lovely accessory the house owners could use in the kitchen.
Because the event is focused on the house, you as the party host should guide your guests through the apartment and show them all the nice things you are proud of. Be it just a set of new table wear or chic bedroom furniture. Housewarming is the event when bragging is mostly acceptable.
What about the food then? Again, it is all your choice. You can surprise your guests with a dinner or stick to simple wine tasting, complimenting it with different cheese types. If it’s summer time and your happen to have a small backyard, you might want to make a barbeque and have a lunch/dinner outside.
When all the guests arrived and your precious home was shown and explored by everyone, you can either engage the guests in a chat and spend the evening catching up, or come up with some fun table games. Again, because the party is informal, almost everything goes.
On the day after your housewarming, remember to thank the guests again by sending a thank you letter, an email, or even better – call. They will certainly appreciate you thanking them for their visit (and presents if any) and for the great time you had together.
As you can see, there is nothing you should worry about when it comes to celebrating your new home. Housewarming is one of the easiest events to plan and organize. The following checklist should help you to host one perfect housewarming party:
- Make a list of people you want to see at your housewarming
- Announce the party in advance – at least 1 week before the event
- Decide what food and drinks you want to serve. See if your guests have any specific preferences; you should know in advance if some of your guests are vegetarians or have any allergies
- Think of the ways to entertain your guests. Consider preparing several variants of fun board games
- Clean your house before the event. It has to be 100% ready to be admired
- Enjoy the party and have lots of fun. You are the proud owner of an awesome new place!
- Send thank you notes after the housewarming
