Our top five housewarming party hacks
29 June 2022Summer is upon us which means that plenty of home buyers will be preparing to move into their new properties. According to data from Reallymoving Removals Quotes, August is the most popular month for moving with 12% of homeowners on the move. July is a popular second choice with 10.5% of movers packing up and leaving their old homes behind (source: Homeowners Alliance). It’s no surprise that many move in the summer as the dry weather and school holidays certainly make it easier.
If you are packing up and preparing to move into your new home, you might be thinking about throwing a housewarming party soon. There’s no better time than the summer to host a party as you can make use of any outdoor space and keep muddy footprints off your brand-new carpet! Housewarming parties are ideal for showing off your home to multiple people at once and they don’t have to be hard work.
We know the last thing you want after moving is the added stress of organising a party so here are our top five housewarming party hacks to make your life a little easier.
1. Don’t worry about the boxes
Anyone who has experienced moving house will know that you live in a world of boxes for the first few weeks. Don’t worry if you still have boxes lying around at your housewarming. No one will be expecting your new home to be spick and span and you can still have a housewarming without furniture in place. In fact, boxes can even make a handy side table for drinks and nibbles or chairs for guests to perch on. Just make sure these boxes don’t have any breakables inside!
2. House tours
The main attraction at any housewarming party is the house tour. After all, that is why you’ve invited guests over, to show off your new pad. To save yourself from running up and down the stair’s multiple times throughout your party, consider waiting until all your guests have arrived to lead a tour. This way, you’re not repeating yourself and you’ll maximise time with your guests.
Expecting a large number of guests? Consider allowing everyone to wander around your new home at their leisure. You could even create labels for each door which describe what each room will become, the purpose of the room and the colour scheme you will eventually adopt. Your guests will have fun imagining your vision and it leaves you even more time to chat with other guests.
3. Keep food and refreshments simple
Refreshments are a must at any party, but you don’t have to go mad whipping up a main meal or baking a plethora of desserts the day before. We recommend keeping it simple by offering a self-serve buffet. This way, not only do you keep your time in the kitchen to a minimum, but you have a whole host of pre-prepared party food to choose from in the supermarket.
Make sure you offer a nice mixture of hot and cold finger food. Remember, you’ve just moved into your brand-new house so to avoid spillages, make sure that food can be eaten with one hand as guests will likely have a drink in the other! You don’t want anyone balancing their plate on their laps with food that contains sauces or is overly greasy. That’s a disaster waiting to happen.
Whip up a nice salad or cut up some raw vegetables which can be dipped in hummus to ensure you have some healthy options. For something sweet, why not lay out a variety of cake bites, brownies, and flapjacks? We love these Cake Jars from M&S and these Salted Caramel Brownie Bites from Tesco.
Keep the vibe casual by setting up a drinks station in the kitchen for guests to help themselves. If it’s a hot day, you’ll want to keep drinks cold. A big bucket filled with water and ice will do the trick! Just soak all of your bottles in there and you’ll have ice cold drinks at the ready for guests to grab.
4. Don’t go overboard on the decorations
We know it’s a party, but you really don’t need to go overboard on the decorations. It’s just another thing to add to your housewarming to do list which you could really do without. After all, guests are there to see your new home, so you’ll want to keep decorations to a minimum so that the interior of your new home really sings.
If you are keen to add a little something, flowers can be the perfect option. Not only do they add a pop of colour to a room, but they can also be kept for days after your housewarming party so are well worth the extra cost.
5. Break the ice with housewarming games
You may be inviting guests who don’t know each other so to break the ice, why not purchase some housewarming games? They’re a fun way for guests to interact with each other and can elevate the party, putting guests who perhaps don’t know anyone at ease.
There are plenty of housewarming games on the market. Etsy is a great place to start as sellers have created their own PDF packs tailored to housewarming parties which you can download and print at home. We love this bundle which includes seven games including a housewarming trivia and word scramble and this clever The Price is Right game which will get your guests frantically trying to picture their latest supermarket receipt!
We hope you enjoyed reading our top five hacks and feel ready to host your very own housewarming party with minimal stress. For those who are preparing to move house this summer, we’d like to wish you the best of luck and we hope that you enjoy many happy years in your new home.
Currently house hunting? Check out the new build homes we currently have available at Longston Cross, Bovey Tracey; Applegate Park, Kingsbridge; Tarka View, Crediton and Gwallon Keas, St. Austell.