It’s the happiest month of the year. How do you plan to celebrate Xmas? If you’re

planning a party, here are 5 ways to enliven the mood and

create a truly memorable evening for your friends.

An exciting invite This is a great touch. It’ll create the mood and the anticipation with your invitee list. Create a simple e-invite with a nice, vibrant image and a witty

headline. Include snippets of forthcoming attractions inside. You can make it in Photoshop or you can simply make it in Power Point and save the slide as an

image. It gets converted into a JPEG and now you can mail it to your friends!

Plan the menu in advance Set the mood with ‘Christmasy’ dishes For starters you can make some mulled

wine. This is very easy to make. All you need is a bottle of wine and some oranges. You can serve that with a piece of plum cake. The main course can involve items

like turkey for non-vegetarians and pies for vegetarians. An interesting continental menu will set the mood well. Plan in advance. Don’t run around on the last day.

Splendid décor and a uniquely designed tree

Décor is to Xmas what diyas are to Diwali. Candy canes, stockings, stars! The highlight: the Xmas tree. Get creative! Make a tree out of a tower of books. Set up the tree with your guests, with Xmas music in the background. You can also have someone videotape the whole session and then create a time lapse video that’ll

be a lot of fun to watch and share later!

Small surprises for your friendsDelight your guests with little, surprise gifts hidden in stockings and under the tree. One needn’t go out of the way here. Simple, thoughtful gifts will be very

meaningful to your guests without making them feel awkward.

Get lots of sleep so you can party longer! It’s going to be a long, eventful night with lots of singing and eating and

drinking and dancing. You don’t want to look like a zombie. Get lots of sleep in the afternoon so you can sustain the Xmas cheer way after midnight.

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