My husband and I love hosting so much. Being able to host more people was a big reason that we moved into a new house last October. We wanted more space for more people.

I grew up in a family that regularly hosted. We had families over for dinner, relatives for overnight stays, neighbors for social gatherings and weekly Bible studies. When I moved out, my family began to host a house church every week. We hosted so much that when my mom told us to clean, I would ask who was going to come over that day. Hosting people was so normal to my siblings and I; so normal that I thought everyone did it, too.

Moving out, I began to realize that hosting regularly wasn’t normal. I began to wonder why I was the only one inviting people over and why they never invited me. Why was I the one that always hosted the dinner parties and the movie nights?

It turns out that I wasn’t just imagining things – Between 2003-2024, the amount of time that Americans spent attending or hosting parties went down by 50%.

A 50% decline is actually wild.

So, what have I done about it?

I’ve come to the realization that I will most likely be invited to less social gatherings than I put on, and I am okay with that. Instead of wallowing in self pity, wishing that others would invite me to their fancy parties, I’ve decided that I will create my own. Instead of drooling over Pinterest picnics and parties, I’ve decided to create my own. Are my parties and gatherings perfect every time? Absolutely not. Sometimes it’s just a gathering of having people over to eat popcorn and play games.

Let me let you in on a little secret: Your home will never be perfect enough to host, so just get started. You’ll never have the perfect backyard. You’ll never have the perfectly clean home. You’ll never have all the right snacks or the right budget. It’s okay. Hosting isn’t about creating perfection – it’s about inviting people into your home. It’s about giving people a space to feel welcome and at peace. A place where they can feel relaxed and calm. You don’t need all of the fancy decorations or the glass plates. You just need people. People to fill your home. Because people are the whole reason that we host. Not to show off our homes, but to invite them into the chaos and imperfection.

Just start. Plan a party and host it. Don’t know what to do? Here’s a list of ideas:

• -Host a popcorn party – provide popcorn and toppings or have everyone bring toppings to share. You can even have a popcorn drawing contest and the person who wins gets a pair of popcorn socks.
• -Host a hot chocolate party – just drink hot chocolate and talk. Super simple but people LOVE simplicity when it comes to parties. You can provide toppings for hot chocolate or have people bring toppings.
• -Host a wig exchange party – have everyone bring a wig all wrapped up. Each person takes a turn to open one of the wig packages, put on the wig and display their new hair to everyone. This is a super fun party to host.
• -Host a movie night – I hosted a Sound Of Music movie night last year and it was incredible. Everyone came dressed up as one of the characters and as we watched the film, we sang along to the movie. It was so special.
• -Host a religious meal – I did a meal the day before Easter this year and we read the whole Easter story together while eating a meal. It was so beautiful as we sat around a candlelit table with a big meal and at the end of the night, took communion together and sang hymns.
• -Host a board game night – just have everyone bring a board game and a bag of chips or cookies. Super chill but super fun.
• -Host a meteorite watch party – I just did this last year during the Geminid Meteor Shower in December and it has become one of my core memories. We snuggled up under blankets, drank hot chocolate and just laid out under the cold, brisk air, seeing dozens of meteors go by. Such a special memory and I cannot wait to do it again this year!
• -Host a national day celebration – This is so easy because there are so many national days to celebrate. Every year, I celebrate national cookie + sock day by throwing a party on December 4th. Everyone brings cookies to share and a pair of wrapped socks. We do a gift exchange of the socks while munching on cookies and it is always so fun to see what each person ends up getting as a sock.

There you go! There are some really simple but host-worthy ideas for you. Don’t wait until your home project is completed or until your kid is potty trained. Just host. You will be blessed and you will bless so many.

-Keziah M.