![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Housewarming-party-pandemic-666x381.png\")
<\/a>A quick look at the history of housewarming parties<\/h2>\n
What better place to start than right at the beginning? Housewarming parties are a centuries-old tradition. In medieval times, guests came to start fires in their friends\u2019 fireplaces to literally warm their new homes. Guests would even leave firewood as gifts for their hosts (but you might not want to use this as an excuse to pass on the blender or the glassware gifts here in the 21st century, folks; your host may not think it\u2019s cute).<\/p>\n
Countries and cultures throughout the world have their own traditions. For example, the French have a charming tradition called \u201cpendaison de cremaillere<\/a>,\u201d which loosely translates to \u201changing of the chimney hook.\u201d In medieval times, when someone finished building a house, it was customary to invite all the people who helped build it to share a meal in the new home. At that time, people cooked with a pot in the fireplace, and they used a chimney hook to hang the pot closer to the flames. This hook was traditionally the last thing installed and marked the official end of construction and the start of the housewarming party.<\/p>\n While the French people still use the phrase pendaison de cremaillere<\/i> to throw a housewarming party, they usually just share a meal and have a classic dinner party.<\/p>\n Now that we\u2019ve knocked the history lesson out of the park, it\u2019s time to get serious about the most important things to know when you throw a housewarming party in the shadow of COVID-19.<\/p>\n What is the key to a successful party these days? Safety.<\/p>\n Andrea Swetland<\/a>, a top HomeLight real estate agent in the San Francisco area advises, if you\u2019re having a housewarming party \u201cyour guests could be very COVID-relaxed while others could be very COVID-cautious.\u201d She recommends \u201cfinding the right balance of being safe while still making it fun.\u201d<\/p>\n More than ever before, as you take the first steps to planning your housewarming party it\u2019s important to think about other people\u2019s comfort levels and be mindful of safety precautions. While an increasing number of people are getting vaccinated, some still want to remain socially distanced and wear masks, whereas others feel more at ease with social gatherings and physical proximity sans masks. You know the saying about no two snowflakes being alike? (It\u2019s true<\/a>, by the way!) You can\u2019t assume all of your guests will feel exactly the same in terms of health, hygiene, and safety. Helping everyone feel at ease should be at the forefront of your planning.<\/p>\n That starts with your guest list. Amber Sanders, Chicago events planner and owner of Events with Ambiance<\/a>, highlights that an important step when you throw a housewarming party today is deciding who to include. \u201cThe first thing to think about is the number of guests you’re planning to invite, have they all been vaccinated and the safety precautions you should take like extra hand sanitizers, individually wrapped serving utensils for guests, or socially distanced seating, if necessary,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n The guest count matters. While some may feel comfortable being surrounded by a crowd of 20 people indoors, others may feel safe when there are only a small handful of others present. Being intentional with your guest list, as well as being transparent with your guests about the headcount, will help everyone feel more relaxed as they know precisely what to expect.<\/p>\n Sanders further illuminates,\u201dwe are no longer living in a world of the need to invite everyone we know to celebrate, but rather the people who mean the most to us and our lives.\u201d<\/p>\n When you\u2019re planning a housewarming party you can rely on a few key tried-and-true steps:<\/p>\n Doesn\u2019t that last point sound like a breath of fresh air? Ahhh. Keep it simple. <\/i>In our current times there are a few more considerations you may want to add to the standard list. While things may not be quite as simple as they used to be, these added touches are easy to pull off so there\u2019s no need for stress.<\/p>\n Sometimes a party needs a good ol\u2019 switcheroo. While COVID-19 may have meant we needed to cancel and postpone many social gatherings and events, we are not precisely \u201cback to normal\u201d yet. In the post-ish<\/i> pandemic party planning scene, it\u2019s a good idea to consider what we like to call \u201cCOVID-19 twists.\u201d<\/p>\n We put our heads together and came up with our top recommendations to mix safety and fun into a cutting-edge cocktail of awesomeness. Trust us. We know your housewarming party is going to be amazing.<\/p>\n Virtual meetings and happy hours might have dominated your calendar in the past year, but there are a lot of benefits to having a virtual component to your housewarming party. If certain family members or friends are not comfortable being at social gatherings yet, then dedicating a slot of time at your party to those who want to join in online is a great addition to your agenda.<\/p>\n Maybe the virtual portion occurs an hour or two before any in-person guests arrive, or maybe it\u2019s a 30-minute Zoom<\/a> call that includes all the guests waving at the on-screen partygoers, paired with a walkthrough of your new home. Moreover, this online element works well for out-of-town guests who can\u2019t travel. Adding a virtual component means that no one feels left out of the festivities!<\/p>\n If you or your guests are concerned with the sheer number of people you want to attend, then it may be best to reduce the number of guests. This doesn\u2019t mean un-inviting people. Rather, consider entertaining them in shifts. If you want to have family members come over in the early afternoon, friends in the mid-afternoon, and coworkers and neighbors in the early evening, this can help keep others from feeling overwhelmed. While this may add a little more planning and juggling to your plate, this could be a great option if there are a lot of people you want to invite, but you have a feeling that a big crowd is just too<\/i> much for comfort.<\/p>\n Given the pandemic and the latest guidelines<\/a> set forth by global scientific leaders in health and safety, hosting events outdoors is highly encouraged. The Mayo Clinic also reminds us that being outside can give you an emotional boost<\/a>. Plus, you can get your fill of vitamin D. Yay for the benefits of nature!<\/p>\n So if your new digs have a backyard, garden, patio, or deck, you can make great use of those wonderful outdoor spaces, and consider limiting your house tours to a few people at a time. While you may not want a small horde of people to be trotting behind you from room to room, it\u2019s nice to just show two or three people at a time your new home, to allow for better conversations and, to be honest, a lot more compliments!<\/p>\n We would be remiss if we didn\u2019t mention that the pandemic and current overall trends have prompted some housewarming etiquette<\/a> changes, Little Miss Manners and Little Mister Manners. Hey \u2014 everyone should be polite, right?<\/p>\n As Swetland attests, \u201cBefore [the pandemic] if you got invited to a housewarming party, whether you went or didn\u2019t, it wasn’t a big deal. Or, you could drop in at any time \u2014\u00a0it was more of an open, fluid situation. Now, I think people are much more specific about wanting to know who is coming so that they can prepare and plan for them. So, that etiquette has changed.\u201d<\/p>\n Kindly request that your guests RSVP at least three to five days prior to your housewarming party. This will help you shop, prepare food, and inform the other guests about the number of attendees.<\/p>\n Creating a gift registry is still the norm for celebrating weddings and baby showers, but these days it\u2019s no longer in vogue to create a registry for your housewarming party. \u201cMost of my clients, when they are thinking about having a housewarming party, it’s more about being able to just spend a little celebration time with people they haven’t seen in a long time,\u201d Swetland says.<\/p>\n \u201cThe housewarming is more about the human connection, less about people coming over and bringing you something for the house.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n While buffets certainly make sharing meals or snacks very easy from a hosting perspective, it\u2019s still important to consider food safety and hygiene. Everyone shoving their hands into a big bag of chips will likely raise some eyebrows. Keep things classy, folks! Set out single-serve bowls of food or snacks on each table, or consider how else you could best individualize food portions<\/a> so people won\u2019t feel like too much cross-contamination<\/a> is happening. Bye-bye buffets and big bowls of finger foods.<\/p>\n Now that you have all the best tips, tricks, and guidance on how to throw a safe and fun housewarming party in the wake of COVID19, we know you\u2019ll enjoy commemorating this momentous milestone in your life! Whether you moved into your house last week or eight months ago, you deserve to celebrate.<\/p>\n \u201cHonestly, the icing on the cake is that we are finally able to gather socially again and celebrate life’s milestones!\u201d Sanders says. \u201cAfter the tumultuous year we’ve had, hosts shouldn’t feel they have to go over the top with a housewarming party \u2014 as long as you have good food, good drinks, and good company the party will be a success!\u201d<\/p>\n Header Image Source: (tabitha turner \/ Unsplash)<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Whether you\u2019re celebrating a home you bought last week or during lockdown, we have the tips you need to throw a housewarming party in the wake of COVID-19.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":246,"featured_media":24751,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"cybocfi_hide_featured_image":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[192,656,654],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-24722","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-for-buyers","category-getting-acclimated","category-homeownership"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nThe key to your pandemic-era housewarming party<\/h2>\n
Planning your housewarming party<\/h2>\n
\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Housewarming-party-pandemic-1-666x381.png\")
<\/a>COVID-19 housewarming party twists<\/h2>\n
Consider adding a virtual component<\/h3>\n
Entertain in shifts to reduce the number of guests<\/h3>\n
Limit house tours to a few people at a time<\/h3>\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Housewarming-party-pandemic-2-666x381.png\")
<\/a>Housewarming etiquette is evolving<\/h2>\n
RSVPs matter<\/h3>\n
Registry shmedgistry<\/h3>\n
Be gone, buffets!<\/h3>\n
Are you ready to rock your housewarming party?<\/h2>\n