Christian-Parent.com

One of the major milestones in life is leaving your parent’s home and getting a place of your own. It is a major cause of celebration and there are many things that need to be taken care of for this to be a successful transition. This may be your one and only chance to throw a house warming. But before you start some of the questions you may have are:

• Who do I invite? Do we invite families or just adults? Do we invite the new neighbors?
• What about my home furnishings?
• Do I have seating for everyone?
• What kind of refreshments do I serve?
• Can I register at say Targets or JC Penney’s (for example) for gifts?
• What do I do for entertainment?
• Do I need a theme?
• Are there are noise restrictions to be concerned with?
• Is their ample parking?

Some of your answers will help to answer other questions, for example are you having soft drinks or asking people to bring their own beverage? If you are allowing for hard drinks you may not want children to be present. You might want it to be an adult only event.

This will be the first of many celebrations.

As you peruse your list of family and friends that you may want to invite, realize that not everyone will be able to show up, but they will most likely put a good effort into wishing you well in your new abode, so think about seating and nourishment for those who are going to enjoy the evening with you. This is your first chance to show off your new home and to play host or hostess. Hopefully, it will be the first of many celebrations.

Where do we hold it?

A party can be held at a community center or your church if you prefer, but you would probably prefer to have it in your home. It is your housewarming, after all! If you are truly mortified by the lack of furniture, and you shouldn’t be because everyone had to start somewhere, you can hold it in your yard. You can have a backyard barbecue. Clean-up will be easier, and they will still be at your home. Borrowing a grill and some folding lawn chairs is relatively easy and sitting around a grill chatting and taking in the delightful aroma of the grill is sure to get the party moving.

How to let the guests know?

The date and time and place can be written on postcards and a housewarming can even be combined with another event such as a birthday or holiday to make it even more special. A novel suggestion is to have post cards printed up with a photo of the new home clearly showing the house number. This will ensure that your loved ones will remember where you are. Mail these out at least a week in advance and place a follow up phone number on them for your guests to respond.

The term housewarming dates back to 1100.

The term “housewarming” comes from long ago when fireplaces were used to heat the home. When a family moved to a new home they brought some of the embers from their old fireplace to the new one. It simply meant “heating a house”. Now this has transitioned in modern times to a celebration for friends and family to wish the new occupants a warm welcome in their new home.

Gifts anyone?

While registering for gifts is not considered to be proper, there has been a growing trend to do so. Another suggestion is to ask friends to bring a bottle of their favorite spirits or their favorite recipe to share. At some housewarmings people come and go for only an hour and so and are replaced by another visitor. It is an opportunity to meet and greet and the other participants in your loved one’s life.

How do we feed the guests?

Finger food is the refreshment that seems to be the one of choice as there may not be the furniture to seat everyone and people will be roaming through the home and commenting on different aspects and possibilities of the home. Trays of crackers and dips or vegetables and dips work very well and are inexpensive.

Make it a time to remember others….

Some housewarmings invite guests to bring a gently used blanket or canned goods in lieu of a gift so that they may be donated to a homeless shelter. It is good to remember the blessings of being able to have a home and to be able to share the wealth with others who are less fortunate.

Marina is a freelance writer and enjoys writing about specialty products like full length floor mirrors, modern accent tables, indoor fountains and a lot more.

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