Hey mommies, and single wives a like! With birthday parties, holiday events, and family bar-b-ques coming up I thought it would be great to give you guys a couple ideas to help you out with that.

1.Set up your guest list.
The first thing you need to do is have a head count of the amount of people to expect. This will help you determine the amount of food, drinks, cutlery and tableware you will need.

2.Set A Budget.
The worst thing (ok maybe not) that happens is over spending on things that you didn't need to. Figure out how much you WANT to spend and try to stick within that margin as much as possible. Try to catch sales whenever you can. Look at your guest list, determine the type of crowd you are expecting. Are they drinkers? Are they foodies? Is it a toddlers themed birthday? Is it your niece's sweet 16?

3.Get your guests to RSVP!
This is going to be especially hard. This will determine your final head count. You can set up a Facebook event page and track your RSVP there, you can send out emails or even a text or phone call can work. In most cases you will have to do a follow up on your RSVP to people who have not responded, to the people who say they will come but really won't and only said yes because they want to be nice (I'm guessing) which is really no help at all.

4.Location, Location, Location.
If you can avoid having the party at your house that would be awesome! Less worry about your friend bringing a plus one who you swear you saw on "First 48". But lets say that you can't afford to rent a space, let's say you actually enjoy having people over to your home to celebrate (like I do). You want to make sure you have enough parking space for your guests, nothing bothers a neighbor more than two things, 1. Noise in the middle of the night and 2. Some random car in their parking space. If you know you're going to be hosting guests way into the night, try to be respectful of the noise level. Talk to your neighbors in advance and let them know you're hosting a small get together. And hey, invite them too out of good measure.

5.Mingle!
There is nothing worst (again, maybe not) than going to a party and not knowing who's house or party it is. If your friend brings their new girl/boyfriend with them or maybe their cousin from out of town that you haven't met, be sure to be pleasant, smile, and try your hardest to not look the up and down in front of them. If your friends don't know each other, introduce them, you're all friends for a reason. Don't let anyone feel left out of the party. No one should be thirsty, hungry or bored.

6.Don't forget to say thank you!
After the dancing is done and your guests are ready to go, be sure to thank them for coming. It's really not a requirement but it makes your guests feel like their presence was warranted and will likely come again to your next event. Send a thank you message the day after to let them know how how much fun you had and that you are happy they could make it. Not only is it a nice thing to do its proper manners. The same principles we learnt and are teaching our children should still be instilled in our everyday lives.

And that's it. Have fun at your next event. If you have any additional tips feel free to leave them in the comment section below.

Mommy xo.