5 ideas for savvy party planning made easy

THERE ARE

those who meticulously decorate dozens of petit fours for a dinner party, set up a photo station and even offer a gift bag. And there are those who may want to do all of that, but don’t have the time or the creative flair. But that doesn’t mean their party can’t have that “homemade” charm. All it takes is a little help and savvy know-how, and your celebrations can have the same love and care as if you DIYed them.

Here are some ways for you to make it look like a pro-DIYer was behind your party.

Semi-homemade hors d’oeuvres

Combine pre-made phyllo cups with already-prepared deli items like tuna or chicken salad, chicken curry, barbecued beef or anything else that appeals to your palate. Or fill them with cheese like cubed brie or gruyere and pop them in the oven until the cheese is bubbly, or use ready-made pie filling to make a sweet treat. You can even raid your pantry and fill them with what you already have on hand. They’re elegant and easy, a perfect combination.

Know when to outsource

Cooking dinner or heavy hors d’oeuvres for a crowd can be timeconsuming, but not everyone can use that time to prep for a party. The busy host or hostess knows the secret sauce of entertaining is knowing when and what duties to outsource. Dessert is one easy option and a big time-saver. Even catering in your whole party becomes affordable when you factor in the cost of ingredients and the time you’ll spend prepping, cooking and cleaning up. Many places will even deliver a party to your door, hot, assembled and ready to go.

Hire a cleaning service

Kids and pets — and let’s face it, ourselves from time-to-time— tend to leave a swath of dirt, debris and clutter in their wake on the best of days, but when company is on the way the mess seems to get magnified into epic proportions. Lucky for us, there are several services which offers a variety of customisable cleaning services — from light housekeeping to disposing of those takeout boxes that have been in your fridge, to a deep clean of your entire house top-tobottom.

Give homemade gifts

If you’re feeling creative find easy ways to personalise or DIY gifts you already have. Or take something as simple as a candle and customise it to make it that much more meaningful.

Don’t even think about making dough

Ready-made pie crusts make baking a pie child’s play. One super easy recipe that will take you literally five minutes to assemble: Line a pie plate with one of the crusts. Mix 5 cups thawed or fresh blueberries with 1/2 cup sugar, 2 tablespoons quickcooking tapioca and 1 tablespoon lemon juice, pop the mixture into the crust, top it all with the second crust and cut four slits in it. Fancy it up by brushing the top crust with milk and sprinkling a little sugar on it. Bake according to the directions on the pie crust box and boom, you’ve got pie. (Tip: You can buy pie filling ready made in a can, too.)

With everyone’s lives being so hectic these days between work, getting the kids to school and their various activities, and finding a few minutes to connect with your loved ones on any given day, entertaining can kick stress up a notch. But celebrating with family and friends should be fun and relaxing, right? Give yourself a break and use these easy tricks to add a personalised, DIY air, just without the added stress.