How to Host a Housewarming in Your New Florida Home

You’ve closed and received your keys, made the move, and are settling into your new home. Now it’s time to celebrate! Achieving your new home dreams is a great reason for celebration and to gather with friends and family for a housewarming party.

To help you get the party started, we’ve put together eight top tips for hosting a housewarming in your new Florida home!

1. Pick a Date, Time, and Theme

It goes without saying that you must select a date and time for your party, and that can potentially determine everything else! Will it be warm enough for your party to primarily be held in your new outdoor living space, or do you plan to stay inside? Is your date near a holiday that you can incorporate into your theme and décor? Are you hosting an event earlier in the day that can have a brunch theme with a mimosa bar? Or, does your home’s décor have a strong coastal, farmhouse or other design style that you can play up? Once you have a date, time and a general theme or style for your party, you can move into planning the specifics!

2. Keep it Simple

Buying a home and moving is expensive, so there’s a good possibility you don’t have a large party budget to work with, but that’s ok. Your guests are coming to see your new home, not elaborate party décor, so keep it simple and let your beautiful new home shine! While it’s fun to have a theme or style to direct things like the food selection or party invitation, you don’t have to go all-out with party supplies and décor. For example, if you choose to do a wine and cheese garden party-themed event, use simple décor like fresh flowers on the dining table, nightstands, and in the bathroom your guests will use. Then, ask your friends and family to collect corks from the wine bottles they’re drinking, and scatter those like confetti on your food table for simple, themed décor.

3. Plan Foods that Meet Four Needs

The Unlikely Hostess blog recommends including at least one dish or item that is fresh, one that is filling, one that is sweet, and one that is quenching. Most housewarming parties are casual and include true party-style foods that are easy to munch on and require little work from you once they are put out. Get large drink dispensers that will keep guests' cups full, or set up a self-serve bar if you plan to have alcoholic beverages. Keep any extra food that won’t initially fit on your serving dishes in easily accessible storage containers in your fridge or pantry, so you can spend minimal time replenishing and maximum time with your guests.

4. Set the Mood

There are a few quick and easy ways you can create a homey, welcoming vibe in your new home, regardless of how far along you are in your decorating. Have music playing softly in the background to elevate the affair, light candles around your home, especially if your event will be in the evening, and consider having cookies baking in the oven (or a candle burning that smells like it!) as guests arrive to give off that true homey vibe.

5. Open for Tours or Off Limits?

At a housewarming party, your home is the main attraction, and your guests are going to expect to see it! Prep each room and space in your home with the expectation that your guests will wander from room to room at some point during the event. If you have a room or rooms that are not ready for guests yet, such as a space you’re using for storage or a closet that you haven’t had an opportunity to organize, don’t worry – no one expects your home to be perfect so quickly after moving in! However, most guests will understand not to intrude if you just simply close the door to rooms that aren’t ready for viewing.

6. Make it Interactive

If your event is more than a few hours long or you want to encourage guests to stay and hang out, consider having a few different games or entertainment options available. You can go the DIY route and create a scavenger hunt of items in your home. If beautiful weather is expected, encourage everyone to head to your new backyard for cornhole, life-size Jenga or other yard games. You can also get guests to engage by having a unique guest book, or asking them to leave their favorite recipe.

7. Make Cleanup Simple

Hosting at home is fun, especially when you want to show off your new space, but the cleanup afterward is decidedly unglamorous. Plan ahead to make cleanup easy so you don’t have to spend your evening or the next day focusing on it. Use recyclable plates, cups, silverware and serving dishes, or ensure everything you use is dishwasher-friendly so you can load it once and go. If you have friends helping to host, enlist some of them to help with providing food, so not all of the dishes are your responsibility at the end of the day. During the party, make sure you have trash cans easily accessible for guests to use. And, in places where food or drink will be served or eaten, do what you can to limit mess. For example, spread butcher blog paper on the counter under your drink station – it can double as space to label the various drinks available while also absorbing most spills and mess for easy cleanup.

8. Thank Your Guests

If you have budget and time, it’s a nice gesture to provide a small token of gratitude for your friends who came to help you celebrate. Simple items such as cookies in a cute paper bag, a jar of popcorn kernels or miniature candles with a cute thank you note can get the job done. And, be sure to keep up with any guests who brought you a housewarming gift. Whether it be as simple as a bottle of wine to stock your new bar cart or something elaborate from a housewarming gift registry, be sure to send those guests a handwritten thank you note to show your appreciation.

For even more inspiration as you’re planning your housewarming party for your new home in Florida, visit our Happy Housewarming Pinterest board.

Highland Homes builds new homes in some of Florida’s most popular cities including Lakeland, Tampa Bay, Metro Orlando, Ocala, and Bradenton-Sarasota. For more information and to find your new home in Florida, contact a Florida New Home Specialist by calling or texting 863-797-4999 or visit HighlandHomes.org.