Open House Party on Boxing Day
Boxing Day is a day rich with stories on how it originated and how it got its name. It is a holiday that is also referred to as St. Stephen’s Day, commemorating the first Christian martyr a day after Christmas. Its roots can be traced from England, but it is also celebrated in other Commonwealth countries like Australia.
One version of the story goes about in claiming that Boxing Day is named after the practice of people to get rid of gift boxes and holiday decorations. Nevertheless, the consensus and the more accurate fact about it is that it is a day to pay tribute to lowly workers who provided services to people with considerable means. Part of this tradition includes providing alms for the less privileged sector of society. On the other hand, the more fortunate members sharing similar class status exchanged Christmas gifts, while the underclass were given gifts packed inside boxes for portability. This may be conveniently considered the origin for the name Boxing Day.
While debates on the origin of Boxing Day continue, most people agree to use the day as an extension to celebrate the Christmas holiday. The day is in itself a great event so consider it as an auspicious day to host an Open House party so you can spend some more time with family and friends.
Invitation: It is important to include the specific time when your Open House starts and ends. Although you may be inviting the closest and dearest to you, you need to indicate they can’t just come anytime as they wish. Knowing when to expect the guests allows you enough time to prepare everything and clean up the mess as soon as they leave exactly on the dot. Depending on the activities you’ve lined up for the party, the invitation must be clear whether children are welcome to the
gathering or not.
Decoration: Hosting an Open House party on Boxing Day makes a lot of sense. At a time when the home is already decked with holiday decorations, you’ll only need a few basic party essentials to enliven the area some more. Tie festive candy swirl foil balloons to gift box balloon weight or hang them in every dull space, and light scented tea lights in the bathroom to have a relaxing retreat for guests who had too much drink and leftover food.
Food Bites: An Open House party is a great way to jazz holiday leftovers and 
transform them into four-star dishes to delight your guests. Even if you promised not to take another bite after Christmas, you can’t resist the temptation to stuff the stomach with your casserole of cooked turkey layered with vegetables and rich cranberry sauce. Guests will help themselves in refilling their Christmas dinner plates with crusty left over mashed potatoes, turkey and ham pie, Christmas pudding ice cream and all the other food on the menu. Some relatives and friends may bring over their own version of leftover magic. It’s time to find out who is the best cook when it comes to extreme makeover for Christmas leftovers.
Games and Activities: For many people, a popular Boxing Day activity is to watch a televised sports game played by their favorite team. Ask your guests to bet on their team. You can use it as a way of raising money to buy gifts for the less privileged. After all, Boxing Day is supposed to be about alms-giving. Alternatively,
if the weather allows it, you can play outdoor games such as cricket or football to burn off the calories you’ve added from splurging on your Christmas feasts. Otherwise, you can hang a Santa piñata so that even children can have fun hitting empty the guy in red suit.
Boxing Day is a great chance to bond with friends after the Christmas frenzy has almost died down. It is also an opportunity for people to socialize after being tied with the family. It is the best time to unwind, have fun, and celebrate the day for the many good purposes it stands for.
