The festive season is upon us! Despite the year we’ve had, it's finally time to enjoy the good bit of the year. High on Diwali cleaning, shopping and decoration, it can get overwhelming to host a gathering at your home with the festive madness. But remember why you took on the responsibility to host in the first place- to enjoy with friends and family and spend some quality time in this joyous season. This year, we have put together a list to help you host a stress-free festive gathering at home. Let’s get right to it:

Planning before time helps you organize your thoughts and find efficient ways to execute planned activities and events. With those in order, you will be able to enjoy the gathering yourself instead of stressing out last minute. Lists are the best way of organizing and effectively getting things done. Prepare lists of the guests, contacts, the things that need to be bought, the food that will be made, and a basic outline of the itinerary. Be as detailed as possible. However, it all comes down to discipline. Your note-taking will not reap any benefits if you don’t stick with it wholeheartedly. A well-planned gathering should not only be enjoyable for the guests but also the hosts.

Although Indian gatherings don’t usually have any organized entertainment, it will most certainly be fun to include some at your gathering. Have a few games or stories ready to get the good times rolling. Ensure that everybody is comfortable and looked after. If you’re having an informal gathering, nudge people to help themselves with the food and beverages. Make everybody feel involved by initiating group conversations. Break down the time in comfortable slabs to incorporate different activities. This year especially, the festive season is going to be felt even more after the events of 2020.

If your guests are mainly millennials or youth, come up with a fun hashtag for the event and use is throughout the evening. If you’re passionate about photography, consider having a nice little photo booth setup for your guests to capture the event. Have a small session dedicated to video-calling friends and family who could not be there due to Covid-19 restrictions or other reasons.

Since food is the central attraction of any gathering, make sure you’re ready for this in every aspect before the gathering. If there are food items in your menu that can be prepared before-hand, do it. The lesser the workload on d-day, the more relaxed and happy you will be. Think of ways to work absolutely efficiently with or without help. Your life will definitely be easier if you’re hosting a potluck. Not only do potlucks shed excessive responsibility from individuals but also make the guests feel genuinely involved and a functional part of a whole. Another important thing regarding food preparation is ensuring that your guests’ food allergies have been taken into account.

The festive season is a time of compulsive gifting. Instead of re-gifting a poorly received box of sweets, it's time to identify and fulfill real needs and be more conscious about our gifting decisions by practicing thoughtful gifting. If you’re looking for some brilliant furniture and home decor gifting options, be sure to check out www.fabuliv.com.

The most dreadful part of any gathering is the clean-up afterwards. Similar to how you planned the gathering, the cleaning up should also be broken down into comfortable time frames and carried out sequentially. Try to tidy up as quickly as possible without leaving chores for later. Don’t be hesitant to ask for help.

Hosting can be a therapeutic experience if carried out with proper planning. It helps to be excited about it rather than being frazzled. This year is a special one. Make sure to adhere to the Covid guidelines in your region to ensure the safety of your loved ones. This festive season, have a wonderful time cherishing the simpler things in life.