How To Throw A Party In Under 15 Minutes

Entertaining is, in a word, stressful. Sure, it's usually fun and worth it in the long run but the initial planning and running around trying to accomplish tasks is enough to make a person want to avoid party planning as much as possible. In today's world when people are busier than usual, each second counts. Between sports practices, long days at work, and weekends filled with errands, dedicating spare time to party-planning can get frustrating. Instead of stressing and throwing a half-hearted party, there are ways to cut corners while still hosting a fabulous soiree. Throwing an excellent bash on a time budget can be done. Trust us.

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Keep in mind, throwing a party when on a time crunch may mean you need to loosen the purse strings a bit. If you really want to save time, don't be afraid to shell out a few pearls here and there for expedited services. Instead of spending hours in the kitchen, hire a caterer and spend only five minutes choosing the menu. Or if you insist on being the hostess with the mostess, choose simple dishes to serve. Grab invite templates online instead of spending hours in front of the computer screen designing them yourself.

Also, consider ways to save yourself time at the end of the evening. Throwing a party is great but let's all just agree that the clean-up stinks. Using plastic silverware and plates, can save major time. Simply arrange them in a fancy carafe and you'll conquer easy clean-up and décor! You could even use clear or colored plastic cocktail glasses so you can spruce things up a bit without having a sink full of wine glasses at the end of the night.

Ultimately, these tips are here to help you to try to relax and enjoy the party. Kick back and relish all the time not spent on extensive and involved plans.

Buy the Invitations

Listen, when you are throwing a party quickly, you'll likely need to fork out a little extra cash in order to cut time. Making your own invites can be very time-consuming. So bite the bullet and grab some invites from a cute site like Minted or Tiny Prints. No time for this either? Put a few shout-outs on Facebook or Twitter to give guests a heads up.

Choose Easy Décor

Decorations can certainly set the mood for a party. Luckily, there are lots of easy, fast décor ideas that will look like they took hours. Try layering some flowers under an inverted wine glass, place a flameless candle on top and bingo! You'd set the mood with simple décor that took five whole minutes. 

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This story was originally published on April 11, 2014.