Imagine you've spent weeks planning a party...

The night is here and the downstairs buzzer rings. You think you have everything ready but as you open the door and see a trail of guests making their way up the stairs, your to-do list flashes before you with tasks left undone.

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Guests are carrying bottles of wine, a cake that needs to be refrigerated, bags to put somewhere. You had meant to make room in the fridge, but saved that to the last, and omg, did you put the toilet brush away after cleaning the bathroom?

How much easier if you could have one guest at a time?

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With the space of 10 minutes in between friends arriving, you could have a moment to check your playlist, light candles, open that first bottle of wine, and for God's sake, do a final bathroom check.

So here’s the hack – tell different people different start times.

"Swing by at 6:45"

"7:00 would be perfect"

"Come anytime between 7:00 and 7:15"

You get the gist.

Extend the early invitation to any guests you haven’t visited with in a while, or guests you know will have to leave early because of work, or kids, or 10Ks they told you they are running in the morning. Having your guests trickle in one-by-one can make it easier for you to mix 1-2 drinks at a time or enjoy some conversation as you add tongs to your charcuterie plate.

This also works well in pairs – tell a couple friends the same time, that way no one is necessarily “last” to arrive. It makes things so much easier for the host. I figure from the guests point of view, if they’re the first to arrive – hey – they get one-on-one time with you! And if they’re last to arrive? Nothing to do but grab a plate and join in!

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