How to host an event in even the tiniest of apartments

By Leah Hochbaum Rosner | November 24, 2015 - 1:59PM

Planning to host a Thanksgiving or holiday party this year, but still trying to figure out how to fit actual guests into your itty-bitty abode? Here’s how to make it work:

Have your liquor delivered
Rather than lugging heavy bottles of booze (then finding a place to put them until the day of your party), simply order them through Drizly, Minibar, or Swill, three apps that will deliver your alcohol at the touch of a button. All three promise to drop off your liquor in under an hour. Just make sure to check ahead of time that they’ll deliver to your neighborhood.

Have your snacks delivered, too
There are also a slew of services that will bring you your groceries (and prepared foods), including Instacart, FreshDirect and Google Shopping Express. (Amazon's getting in on the food delivery action, too.) If your kitchen lacks storage, make sure to place your order the day of your party so you don’t have to deal with storing any of it. And if you’re thinking of throwing a dinner party without doing any actual cooking, there’s Kitchit, a service that’ll send a chef to your place to prep, cook and clean up, so you have nothing to do during your party but mix and mingle.

De-clutter
Brooke Stone, founder and CEO of GYST, a company that provides personal assistants by the hour, including for parties, has a number of recommendations:

Remove all knick knacks and framed photos.
Roll up your rugs since bare floors will make the place look bigger (and make it easier to clean up any spills).
Push all your furniture to the walls.
Shove all extra stuff into closets or just drape a scarf over your shelving or open storage to keep the clutter out of view.

Make the décor work for you
Make your furniture work double duty. Your dresser can serve as a sideboard, the nightstand as a spot for a tray of drinks, etc.

Use mood lighting
Replace your overhead fluorescent bulb with a softer one to make your teeny-tiny apartment feel less cramped and more cozy. Or put in a dimmer switch—they can work wonders. You can also string lights above the area where people will be spending most of their time.

For more, read “Tiny apartment, big party: Pull off a holiday bash in a small space.”

In Case You Missed It: Every so often, BrickUnderground digs through the archives to find the best advice our experts have shared through the years.

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