This post is part of a social shopper marketing insight campaign with Pollinate Media Group™ and Cottonelle, but all my opinions are my own. #pmedia #CottonelleHoliday http://cmp.ly/3/8vNxcO.

While the holidays are meant to be a time to spend with your family and friends, most of us (including me) work so hard to host the best get-togethers that we end up not enjoying anything (or anyone) at all! This holiday season make it a goal to throw a great party that’s not only easy, but is as entertaining for you as it is them by using my five simple Party-Perfect tips! 

1. Create a Theme That Ties it Together. 
From the moment you decide to throw a party, you should work around a theme. 

Not only do your guests have an expectation of your party plan, but it makes your planning MUCH easier. From the invitation, music, food, and decor, a theme gives you a base to plan your party. However, don’t think you have to use your theme for every detail. And a theme doesn’t have to be complicated either; it could be as simple as blue and silver colors or Peppermint stripes. And remember, not everything has to be as perfect as that pin you put on your Pinterest board, but just enough to give you a little something to remember you (and your party) by! 

To get your started, I’ve included a Pinterest board full of fun holiday themes to inspire you and to get the juices flowing!

Follow Autumn Reo {mamachallenge.com}’s board HOLIDAYS: Ideas on Pinterest. 

2. Set the Mood with Music. 
Let your Siri or your computer do the work with either a preprogrammed music list or an online music service. 

The music is important as it sets the tone for your party, but if you are playing DJ all night, it interrupts the mood and keeps you from your guests. I like the 60/40 rule when it comes to holiday parties with 60% of your all-time favorites (and appropriate) with a mix of 40% of holiday hits (you don’t want your party to sound like a discount store) for a personal touch. 

However, technology has made it even easier with online services like Pandora. Just type in whatever musician you would want to play at your party if money was no option (Harry Connick, Jr. anyone?) and then Pandora spits out a channel with a playlist that includes Harry, Buble and other similar artists with no repeats. (Just make sure to pay the $4.99 monthly fee to ditch the ads so you don’t have a commercial break during your big bubbly toast! You can always cancel it. ) 

3. Presentation Goes a Long Way with Party Food. 
Food is often a favorite part of a party, but you don’t have to spend three days cooking to present a good spread. Just buy cute platters, muffin papers or small cups and voila, you have an instant presentation even Food Network will be proud of.

• Order a few of your favorite things from your favorite eatery. Hit up your restaurant, grocery store or deli and have them whip up small versions to plate up at home. Zoe’s Kitchen, Eatzi’s and Olive Garden have several options available for order or even drop in!  

• Make it a fun food event with a taco or ice cream bar. You only have one big ingredient and then everyone can make their plate exactly the way they want it! 

• Consider a potluck and ask your guests to bring their favorite dish! Using electronic invitation program Evite or even just a personal Facebook Event Page allows you to post what you are bringing so you don’t have to worry about having duplicate dishes!) 

• Go frozen! Make it easy by going to your local market or Super Target for all the baked apps you can find (everyone loves those quiches, puff pastry and flautas), throw them on a baking sheet and then 10 minutes later you have party food – now all you need to do is plate it pretty! 

4. Create a Cocktail, not a Bar. 
Being hospitable doesn’t make that you have to have tons of options available at your party. And like music, if you attempt to play bartender at your party mixing up everyone’s preferred cocktail, never get out of the kitchen (and go broke in the process). Mix up one signature cocktail for the party that maybe has a fun name that relates to your theme or has a festival feel and call it done. Then just have water, ginger ale and maybe coffee available for guests.  They don’t call it signature for nothin’ – one cocktail can really make your party memorable. 

However, you could always make it BYOB and tell your guests to bring a bottle of wine. That way you have wine available for guests as soon as the first one shows up at the door. Just make sure to have a few extra bottles on hand for that guest that “forgets” their offering. Nothing is worse than a party that runs out of refreshments just when the party gets going. 

5.  Prettify the Potty! (Cottonelle Photo)
Yes, you heard me. When you invite 20+ friends over and then serve several servings of apps and drinks, it’s inevitable you also should plan for a least 1-3 trips per guest to the bathroom. That’s why this room should be included in the party plan just as much as what you are going to feed them! 

I like to make my bathroom clean and welcoming with a nice-smelling burning candle, a fresh decorative hand towel (or dry cloths) and stocked with lots of toilet paper. There’s nothing more embarrassing than to run out of TP while you are a guest at someone’s house, so have a few rolls of Triple Roll of Cottonelle (I bought my mine at one of my favorite shopping spots, Target) readily available in the bathroom. That way you don’t have to taken from the fun to go to get another roll (and it still fits on your stand TP holder.) 

And with Cottonelle’s Triple Roll, your toilet paper will last three times as long as that other stuff and the quality is much better, too! If you know everyone is going to have an experience in your bathroom, wouldn’t you want it to be the best one?