Hosting a House Party, Part One: Deciding to go for It

Do you like to entertain people at your house? Is your house the one that all your friends and family flock to? Is your home's entrance a revolving door with lots of people in and out throughout the week? Then maybe this post isn't for you.

Do you often wish that you could invite friends over? Do you worry about the mess in the kitchen? The lack of seating? The non-Pinteresty way you decorate? Do you make excuse after excuse to avoid opening your home to people? Welcome! We are kindred spirits!
There are lots of times in my life that I've lacked the motivation to get things done. And then there are times that I just get so fed up with my own laziness that I go crazy! This three-part blog series is the result of one of those times.
Starting today and going for three Mondays I will present my plan of action for hosting a house party. Part one, which you have stumbled upon today is all about getting up the nerve to conquer your excuses and invite people over. Part two will deal with menus and entertainment. Part three will be the glorious aftermath.

Part One: Deciding to Host a Party

I have lots of reasons that I don't invite people over. Chief among them are the size and state of my house. One of those things I can do something about and one of them I cannot. When my friend Heather was looking for some friends to host a house party to show off some new pieces for Premier jewelry, I decided to just go for it. I volunteered my home and set a date. Then I started to panic a bit about what I had just done.
My head was ablaze with all those reasons that I don't invite people over. Then a more rational side came through and helped me to make a plan. What follows are the reasons I don't invite people over, and my justification for override those reasons:

• The house is a mess. Clean it up! The house is lived in. There's no need to make it look like a showcase. Just make sure that people won't trip over toys on the floor or accidentally sit on a pile of laundry on your couch. These are your friends aren't they?
• There's not much space. Veto the limbo contest, then. You aren't having a gymnastics competetion! Just some people over to look at jewelry and eat some food. Couch plus chair equals four seats. Bring in the dining room seats and there's five more. You don't really know more than nine people anyway!
• The kids are a pain! Yep, they can be. But they only live to annoy each other (and you). They can be quite civilized with other people around. In fact they can be alarmingly charming when they want to. That's why people don't believe you when you get exasperated with them! Plus, they'll have a few extra friends to play with themselves.

So I've made up my mind to get over the excuses and have some people over for a nice afternoon. The things I can change will be taken care of. I've got time to get the house picked up. I showed off quite a mess last week, but that's nothing a dedicated afternoon won't take care of. It goes along with my plans to get rid of more stuff from my house as well. The other issues are things that people who are truly my friends will understand and overlook.
To sum it up, I've decided that life is too short to wait for the perfect time to invite people over. That time will never come. You might as well just dive right in and enjoy the time you have in the place you are. And if you've decided to go ahead and plan a shindig, you'll want to come back next week for ideas on food and fun!
How often do you have people over?