DO you live in an outdoor space kind of climate? We had a party with over 80 people in our tiny 2 bedroom home...no formal dining room. We filtered people outside by putting the bar out in the screen room. Plus the music and a bunch of tables were set up outside. Either way...put the bar where you want people to mostly filter.

Alas, I'm located in the chilly northeast...no outside entertaining for me right now. Although, if it is NOT absolutely freezing out, I'll probably have my husband light our chiminea (sp?) out on the patio. There are a couple of chairs out there if anyone wanted to step outside for a cigar or a cigarette (although I've never actually seen ANYONE I work with smoke.)

There is alot of open floor space right by the bar, so I'm guessing that's a good location for people to "filter."

Thanks for your thoughts.

SQ

What a fun thread.

I hosted our block party's progressive dinner a couple of years ago and we had about the same number in a house about your size.

I also have a large New Years Eve party every year.

Here are some tips. Take as you find helpful.

And maybe your caterers are taking care of some of these points as well.

Have your house ready the day before. Then try to not do much there so it stays ready.

If you have dogs or cats, have a plan for them. Not every guest is an animal lover. Fluffy and Fido may need to stay in the basement this evening.

Plan where all the coats will go. If your front hall closet is large (LOL as if!) you could empty out your coats and then put guest coats there. Most likely you will have coats on your bed. This means that you will have people upstairs and you will want to have everything presentable there. Tell your DH this is important.

People will want if possible glass wine glasses, but are fine with disposable plastic cups for other beverages. If you don't have enough wine glasses, then I have used smaller nicer clear plastic "airplane" type plastic cups for the wine.

Use or borrow a larger coffee pot or pumper pot for coffee. It's nice to have both reg and decaf if possible. Everyone loves coffee and yummy desserts.

At any given time, most of the time people are there they will be holding a drink and talking. That should account for having enough space foe 60-70% of the crowd. With about 20-30% for seated conversations or eating.

Set out one large area on the dining room table with the majority of the hot food for people to fix a plate. Have a coffee and dessert station in another room. Have drinks in 2 locations. Have snacks/appetizers in other rooms.

Figure out where smokers should go. Outside in yard, or do you have an attached garage? This location is a good place for overflow coolers.

Have bottled water available.

Have extra trash and recycling containers available. Cardboard liquor store box lined with a trash bag is good for recycle.

We have had the chiminea going, and it is a good place for smokers, those who get too hot inside, and people that want a more private conversation away from the crowd. If it's too cold for the chiminea, but the back yard is where you would direct smokers, then I would put out some torches or candles there to signify that this is Party Space and OK to use.

Create your music playlist before the party and have it ready to go. Or if you run out of time, put on the holiday music on the cable TV.

If by chance there is a televised sporting event going on the same time as your party, plan to have the TV on someplace where people can watch with the closed caption on and no sound. This will go a long way into having people stay and let the (usually) wives enjoy themselves while their (usually) husbands keep tabs on the progress of the game. Expect the sound to be on for the last 5 minutes. If you don't do this, you will have people wanting to leave early to watch the end of the game, or hiding in the garage watching it on their phones anyway.

Sorry to everyone who thinks this is the most rude thing ever. I have found it to be quite fun, and after all when you go to the trouble to have a party you do want your guests to have fun. I don't care about sports one iota, but know how much others love it.

My friend has a giant Christmas party every year and he rents beverage glasses from a restaurant supply house. He also hires a waitress (one year my teenage daughter) to go around and clean up the glasses and make sure the food stays full, etc. He swears by the renting of glasses... just puts them back into their boxes dirty and takes the whole lot back to the store.

We hosted a large gathering in our home last year. We discovered, we could easily add another table w sitting for 6 (albiet a long folding table and plastic chairs) to our dining room by moving around our dining table. Also we placed a couch, from a spare bedroom, in front of our fireplace (since it wasn't being used).

If you do offer bottled water, I would suggest getting the half bottles. I figure it's better to find barely drunken half bottles than whole bottles of water. If you decide to not use glasses, then I would suggest getting the cups that handle cold and hot beverages. Costco sells the Dixies' perfect touch cup, which are awesome. They do a great job insulating your fingers from hot drinks. We paid bn $10-$15 for 160 cups.

I just learned from my neighbor (who throws massive parties) that our garbage collectors really enforce the recycling rules. They won't pick up your trash if it's filled w recyclable bottles, cans, and glasses. Hence the reason I saw my neighbor separating his garbage and recycling after his last party. So I would provide dedicated recycling cans that are clearly marked.

WOW! I knew I could count on you guys. Thanks for all of the very specific suggestions. I'm appreciative of both the ones I've already thought of (validates that I'm on the right track) and especially the ones that I haven't already thought of (like the 1/2-bottles of water idea and all the talk of garbage and recyclables.)

I guess my biggest concern is having so many people in my house. When we first moved here (15 years ago) it was pretty much what we thought of as a "smaller" house. But with all the work we've done (our addition and especially my beautiful new efficient spacious kitchen,) I have to remember that I'm not dealing with the same situation.

Again, thanks to everyone who has responded and I'd still love to hear from others.

SQ

I don't know if your party will be casual enough for these, but we used them last weekend for a large family reunion. Super neat idea - everyone loved them.

http://www.alice.com/products/1276029

it's a peel and scratch solo cup. you peel off the label and a black matte surface is there - then you can scratch your name on the cup with your fingernail.

As I said, casual -- but certainly useful!

Your house will be fine. I always remember having a large party in our first small apartment. Somehow it works! People stand, walk around and mingle. They will hang in the kitchen as well as the other rooms. Spreading the food around is a good idea, as well as two beverage areas. It keeps people movoing around.
Are you planning on having someone help during the party? Having someone pass h'dovers is a nice touch.

If you're anything like me, let the house start off chilly. All the running around with ovens on and all those people, it will heat up quickly. By the time I sat down at Thanksgiving, I was sweating! I wished we hadn't had the gas fireplace running all morning.

Have fun!

When we had a large party in February, we rented a couple of those outside propane heaters like they use in restaurants - the ones with the propane tank on the bottom of the post and the heater on the top of the post. We live in a moderate winter climate, but as long as it isn't freezing, raining, sleeting, etc. it makes the outside usable for those who want to get out of the crowd for moment, especially if you also have a couple of benches pulled up around your outdoor fire.

We sometimes rearrange the couches and chairs for a party to put them more against the wall and leave more open space. Rather than one table in the living room and one in the family room, can you put them both in the same room? That way you consolidate the sitting space and leave a larger open space for circulating and chatting.

Unless you are compulsive about matchy matchy, you can put out mismatched coffee mugs with no apologies. Save the planet from styrofoam! Same with wine glasses. Collect them from garage sales and Goodwill special price days and keep them in wine bottle boxes. Close up the openings in the boxes when they are stored so that the critters in basement don't move in. Put through dishwasher rinse before using, nevertheless. If you use plastic disposable plates, you can put through dishwasher and keep them for future use also. The more colors in the set the more they seem intentional.

Disposable spoons and forks are an abomination. No fun to eat with plastic in mouth. Again, don't worry about matching patterns; show respect for guests by letting them eat with real tableware.

If the person who planned the catering had any sense, they planned a menu that supports standing and eating--basically nothing that requires two utensils at the same time (no prime rib at a stand and mingle party).

Catered can mean different things. Are they just bringing the food and dropping it off (not great)? Are they providing glassware, etc? Will there be catering staff there to keep the platters filled and the dishes washed? If you don't know the answers to these questions, talk to the organizer and if possible the caterer. If the catering is full service, figure out what they need, do your best to provide it, and let them do their jobs so you can enjoy the party? If it isn't, talk with whoevers organizing the catering to arrange for renting items you need. Make sure the menu works for standing and mingling.

Put the drinks stations and food stations at the back of larger spaces, and not in major traffic areas. That way people get drawn all the way into the room to get a drink and don't crowd blocking areas of movement.

Have a plan for who replenishes the food stations.

Consider moving an item or two of larger furniture into the garage or upstairs to free up space for people to stand and circulate. Where two or three people can sit on a couch, a lot can stand in the same space.

My #1 piece of advice is to hire a professional bartender if the caterers aren't already providing that. I'd have one bar area only (you can have a separate area for self-serve coffee), and don't have the caterers walking around topping up wine glasses.

For large parties we've found a tended bar is a service that guests really appreciate, but more importantly the bartender can quietly let you know if someone's had a LOT to drink so that you can ensure they have a ride home or that you can call them a cab.

When you're hosting 50+ people it's just not possible for you to tell who is drinking a lot of alcohol and who isn't, especially if you're planning on drinking yourselves (which I usually do a fair bit of at our own parties, lol). It's piece of mind to have a responsible bartender so you can ensure that everyone gets home safely.

Have fun; I'm sure it will be a great party!

You've gotten many great tips so far, but there is one area no one has covered yet. The bathroom. How many will available for use? Are they easily located? Can folks que up out of a main traffic pattern?

Here's the most important part of the bathroom usage. Have multiple rolls of t.p. available and have multiple hand towels for use. I usually remember everything else to do for a large party like those ideas listed above, and I've cooked all the food also, but somehow forget about the workout a bathroom will get. Handtowels get soaked from hand drying in a short time. Better than putting seven towels out at the beginning is to place a couple at first and then replace them every 60-90 mins or so, especially towards the middle of the party when the drinks start to kick in. :). But this requires you to rememeber to do the replacing. I usually forget that part also.

Have a great time! And let us know how it went. I'm sure you'll have a couple tips of your own to share, too.

We had a holiday party last year for friends/neighbors and had about 80 - 90. Here are some things that helped:

1. Great music. If you have a sound system with a docking station and speakers in multiple rooms that makes it easy. If not, use whatever you have but be sure to use it! And feel free to delegate! Have a co-worker who loves music make a playlist or burn CDs to play.

2. Bartender. We had our 21 year old neighbor bartend. We set him up at a table with big tubs of iced beer, wine bottles, and our 'signature drink' for the party. (Peppermint martinis with candy canes.) Since this is for your office, hopefully they'll pay for a pro bartender and the booze. I think you can get away with beer, wine, and one signature mixed drink (don't need a full bar of mixers.) We set up the bar in the living room (we took the rug out in case of spills) to encourage the crowd to not all stand in the kitchen. People stood in the kitchen, DR (where the food was) and LR; literally no one went into the great room which is the largest room. We put coolers with water bottles and soda in the mudroom area.

3. Walkin' around food: make sure the caterers bring things that can be eaten standing up without forks. Mini sandwiches, spinach triangles, meatballs on toothpicks, etc. You can have some seating for the older or less active folks, and likely everyone else will stand and mingle.

4. Have an easy spot to put coats and if possible let people put down and retrieve their own coats so you can enjoy the party. I printed a welcome sign that said where to put coats, where the bar was, etc., put it in a picture frame, and put it in the front hall where people would see it when they came in. If the caterers will take coats for you, see if they can bring a portable coat rack with hangers and numbers to keep track easily.

5. Big coffee maker: I have one that makes 100 cups. (I've never needed the full capacity.) I set it up for about 60 cups for the big party, and put out cups, Bailey's, Kahlua, cream, sugar. If you don't have a big one, ask the caterers to bring one.

6. Spread things out. Bar in one space (maybe your sunroom -- no other furniture maybe), food in another, coffee in another, etc. That will hopefully get people walking around.

7. Think about parking. If you can only park on one side of your street (like our street) let people know in advance. Also put a sign on your front door to remind people so no one gets a ticket. Make sure your street number is easily visible and your house is lit up so no one has to wonder which house to go to.

8. Have your recycle bin(s) right out the back door or somewhere equally easy to get to, so guests or the caterer can toss empty bottles and cans right in.

Do you think this crowd will need some help mingling or need some entertainment? See if you can have a co-worker help you by getting digital pictures from everyone in the office. They can include their own baby / kid pictures, pictures of other office gatherings if they have them, etc. Ask your helpful co-worker to put together a slide show (PowerPoint makes it easy, so does iMovie if they have a Mac) that can run continuously. Run this on your laptop plugged into your TV if possible, just running in the background. If anyone needs something to do or an ice breaker, they can watch the slides and try to guess with others who the kids pictures are. No one has to watch the whole thing; it's just a fun thing to have in the background.

Have fun!

Wow, lots of great tips!

I just want to echo cloud_swift's suggestion of an outdoor propane heater. Our neighbors host a large Christmas party every other year and have almost always rented one for their patio so people could go outside for fresh air and to enjoy the large koi pond (we live in the PNW so frigid temps and snow aren't a concern). Another neighbor rented an outdoor tent and propane heaters for a New Year's Eve block party. That worked great. They heat a good sized area, unlike a chiminea, and there's no smoke to dodge, unlike a chiminea. Hopefully your company will pony up the money to rent one.

GREAT info here! I hosted something similar a couple of years ago, but I made the mistake of removing the family room furniture and putting 5-6 tables in there (they were crammed!). EVERYONE ended up in there - and no-one went into the living room where we had our Christmas tree, etc. It was packed, but everyone had a great time. It was totally worth it!! I'm taking notes, though, so the next one is better. Thanks to everyone for generously sharing their experience, wisdom and lessons learned.

If you are going to be having a LOT of extra lights because it's Christmas and then extra decorations and music going, outside lights and everything is on at the same time plus maybe your ovens make SURE your electrical box can handle it.

I went to a party last weekend at a large home, they had a tree in every room, lights outside, tons of lights inside and a live band in a tent with dance floor. Band plugs in and poof the lights go out. ALL OF THEM!!! Inside and out.. The house had 400 people in it (a very large antibellum home, plus tent with dance floor). It was a big fancy party for an organization but it was at a private home. Anyway, they had an extra transformer installed just for the party but apparently it wasn't large enough even with the extra generator at one end of the house for the band. The power company trucks come out park all over the front yard and they tell the wife it will be THREE hours for the power to come back on because the transformer box is so hot they can't touch it. I felt so sorry for them they were beside themselves.... But I have to tell you it was the best icebreaker EVER!! People rallied to help and adjust expectations. We were all dressed up and lamented we didn't even have to really wear makeup or get a new dress.. Candles were lighted, the in shock wife is sitting on the floor putting batteries in flash lights and everyone is just having a great time in the dark. The bars were swamped. A lady tripped and bumped her drink coming down the stairs. Of course it was red wine and since I was standing at the bottom of the stairs it went in my hair, down the back of my dress and all over my light colored hose. OMG!! Well the lights came on earlier than they thought about 90 minutes later and it was one of the best parties I have ever been to. No one wanted to leave. Moral of story when the worst happens it can still be a great party and one to remember! Stuff happens!!!

From that experience I can say to be sure your electrical can handle it all. Know where your candles are and flashlights. Get two bartenders if possible or someone to volunteer to help, sorry you've got to have two or at least make most of it easy to serve yourself. Have them in two different places so not everyone is jammed up around the bar area. People down here drink a LOT. YMMV... Easy to find garbage cans and someone to help keep the place picked up from glasses and plates helps a lot. I've had as many as 70-80 and the more you have the more they wait on themselves so make it easy to do that, too. What I have the most trouble with is a dinner party for 8 where I am constantly on the go with no help and can't keep everyone's glass filled. That's a workout because you have to do all the waitressing. But big parties are just lots of fun and easier IMO!!! Have a wonderful time!!! Cheers!!!

Lots of great tips. Since you live in the northeast, you may need to also think about what to do with boots as well as coats if it is wet or snowy weather. Rather than having them in a goopy pile in your entrance or hall, have plastic bags ready. Then each pair can be moved out of the way as guests arrive into another space. I wouldn't worry about sit-down space with a large crowd. More important is room to stand and circulate, and placing the bar in a place least likely to result in a traffic jam or bottleneck.

I'm having so much fun reading all of the tips! This is fantastic!

Again, plenty of things I have thought about, but hearing people suggest them makes me feel happy (for example, I live directly across the street from a church, and they've already told me I can use their parking lot; and I'm planning on totally emptying my front hall closet to use it for guests' coats, as well as having a coat tree there for the overflow.)

Then there are some things I haven't really thought about, but I think I might be avoiding them on purpose...a little bit of denial maybe. Having never had this many people in my house, I'm not quite sure how my tiny little back-hall bathroom is going to handle it all!! You might recall, when we did our kitchen, we also up-dated the bathroom. It's very pretty, but still extremely tiny. I imagine it's going to see much more use than it has ever before! I really don't think it will be an issue - I just think most people will be amazed at the room's size! (And I have purchased pretty paper hand towels and have extra toilet paper which I will make visible.)

Because this is an actual work party (read that as I am NOT paying for anything - except little extras that I want to throw in) I'm not getting too involved in the food we are getting or the other details. I did see the menu and I'm happy to say there is nothing that really requires serious fork and knife use - no steak or anything. There is a salmon dish but I think that's something not too difficult to handle. I know they have hired someone to help serve/set-up/clean-up, and another person from the caterer is going to stay to help out as well.

I've actually held off on the bulk of my Christmas decorating - for a few different reasons. First of all, with that many people in the house I don't want extra "clutter" around on my surfaces. I'm not meaning to "dis" decorations...it's just that most of them look very pretty, but don't really serve much of a purpose. We won't get our tree until both of my kids are home from college, so that's not an issue. (Although I do love for people to see our tree - my ornaments are a big thing for me.) But not having it up is probably better in this case because we tend to get a pretty good size and I really don't want to lose the floor space!

What I've tried to do is place strategic, important decorations around the house just to make the house look pretty and help get everyone in the spirit. I've also done my normal outside decorating since that won't have a negative impact on space inside the house.

My husband and I just loaded about 500 holiday songs on to my iPod, and he spent a good part of the weekend running wire so that we finally have "music" pretty much all over the first floor of our house. (See - the party is actually just a grand scheme to get him to do some jobs around the house that he's been avoiding for a little while...a little while like 15 years!!! hahaha) We also did a little touch-up painting today. I joked that we should just list the house for sale and see what happens now that it's in such good shape!

I also want to say that I truly appreciate all of the good wishes sent my way. So the party is this Friday, and I feel confident that after reading all of the suggestions here, I'm in pretty good shape. I'll let you know how it goes - and maybe share anything I learn as well. Thanks -

SQ

We just went to a company-paid-for, catered Christmas party at hubby's co-worker's home. There were tons of people there, and I don't recall seeing anyone sit down in the living areas. A few people sat at the kitchen bar or table while eating, but most stood and milled about.

The food was on the dining room table (chairs removed from room), the desserts on a side-table with overflow on the kitchen island. Drinks were in the garage along with a couple of tables set up--don't recall seeing but a couple of people sit there to eat. My favorite spot was outside at the firepit--it was quite chilly, but with the fire going and a warm vest, it was great (the hostess even brought us everything we needed to roast marshmallows and make s'mores).

I don't remember music, but they did have a big TV in the hearth room going for the SEC championship game--muted. Guys kept walking into the room to check the score, so that is a great idea when there are bowl games being played, etc.

Have fun!!! And let us know how it goes.

I know you've got your iPods loaded, but a great tip for the future is streaming Pandora radio. We use it all the time for parties and love it.

Another tip for wet soggy shoes/boots is to set each pair in a plastic grocery bag. This keeps the floors clean if that is an issue. Looks cheesy, but really contains the mess and keeps the pairs together.

I second the suggestion of renting glassware/plates if the caterers don't provide them. So much nicer and really cuts down on waste and cleanup.

Have fun!

breezy's right about the toilet paper. We had a big party and when our t.p. ran out, guests began flushing napkins, kleenex and paper towels. A huge problem for our older plumbing.

I'd add that since you have pretty paper hand towels, you should place a good sized trash can in your bathroom, so that none of those go down your toilet.

you are getting a lot of great ideas! Don't forget about parking. If you live in a neighborhood, you might need to alert some neighbors to the additional traffic. And you might want to put your car(s) elsewhere in case you have some folks who have to park in your driveway due to not being able to walk long distances.

Also, make sure the pathway is well lit, either with luminaries, or whatever.

Not sure how well all these people know each other, but if you need to force some mingling, one little "game" we have done in the past is to put the name of a famous person on a piece of paper, and tape the names to peoples' backs as they come in. They can only ask a ceretain number (1?) of yes/no questions to each other guest to get clues to who they are. The first person to figure out who they "are" wins a prize. It was a great way at our parties for our different groups of friends to interact. It was a lot of fun, and I hate games. heehee

Have a good time!
Bee

and don't forget while you are stocking the TP in the bathroom, to put out lots of paper hand towels. No sense everybody catching Bob from Accounting's cold.

Although the food will be catered, try to identify the food that is being served with small place cards,or ask the caterers to provide place cards describing each dish. When we had a large party with a buffet, we later discovered that guests were not sure what some of the sauces were or the ingredients on other dishes, so they avoided them. Now I use some sort of place card or marker describing each dish.

Ah, place cards for the food...that's a good one. I'll get on it right now.

We host parties a lot - and the smaller the area the better the party - it's easy to chat, find someone you like, (or ditch somebody you don't like ;) cause you are so close to everyone. The suggestions are all perfect - especially that bathroom one. Have a great time!

Ditto - put the bar where you want people to gather :) Outside is fine and so is screened porch . . Don't worry about having so many places for everyone to sit at once. Folks will find where to sit but many more will be standing and drinking than sitting for sure. I think 30 places to sit is plenty . . .

Lots of great suggestions.

Many cateres bring a few small tall tables to scatter around the room. This allows people to sort of stand at the table and talk, and leave dishes and glasses for the servers to pick up on the table. (ie athensmomof3)

Do you have a bar area set up for drinks? Is there wine and bear and spirits? If you have spirits, do you have a designated bartender or have you hired one? (ie Chicagoan's suggestion...) If it is a self serve drink area, make sure it is easy to access and is separate from the food to ease the congestion.

You NEED servers for parties this size if you do not want to spend the entire time being the server. (I am hoping that servers are included with the catering.) It is nice to be able to be the hostess rather than the person running in and out to get things needed. If there are no servers, then you need/hire someone (ask a friend, your older kids) to walk around and pick up plates, glasses, napkins etc to keep the party looking reasonably tidy and picked up.

Great suggestions so far. Have a coat rack by the door in addition to the closet. With so many people in weather this cold I doubt your closet will be big enough. Avoid the coats on your bed scenario. People are just too nosey. Don't have anything in your med cabinets you don't want people to see. People snoop! I think highboys or cocktail tables promote mingling more than regular tables. Heavy hors oeuvres type menu works better for these scenarios. Strongly consider servers for this many people. Is there a time limit on the party. That will impact on the bathroom issue also.

Wow - thanks again for all of your great suggestions. The party was last night and it was a huge success. "The best holiday party in years" according to quite a few Facebook posts!!!

Since I am here on GW, I want to mention that everyone loved my kitchen. I'm sure some people might have just been trying to be polite, but really, I got so many wonderful comments, people mentioning specific things that they loved and people asking me for recommendations and advice! It was great. And the kitchen was absolutely the most popular room to be in. The bar area was hopping!! But eventually, things sort of spread out.

I'm not the type of gal who has ever really had a "catered event" in my house, and certainly not anything of this size. I was really appreciating having a server/helper there - especially to keep things cleaned up over the course of the evening. It was weird though, 'cause I kept wanting to offer her drinks and food and I was definitely treating her like a guest!

Everything fell in to place perfectly. Coat closet and coat tree fit the bill. The chimnea was blazing away. The crowds were spread out all though the house. People were saying all night how much more fun a house party is than something in a restaurant. I think I've already offered my house up again for the party next year!

Thanks again for the advice.

SQ