Somewhere along the road of adulting, the holidays have gone from presents and merriment to planning and dishes. So many dishes. And while we are busy running errands, toiling away in the kitchen, and cleaning up, December’s cheer can easily pass us by.

This year, we are saying “enough.” Let’s focus on making memories instead of grocery lists. And whether you are hosting a small family get-together or a larger holiday soiree, Party Host Helpers can get you back into that holiday spirit—and back to the party instead of running around working it.

Renée Patrone founded Party Host Helpers eight years ago, recognizing this need among her friends and clients. She had been working in event planning—both corporate and through her own business Events by Renée—for years, but noticed that the hosts were the ones putting the most into the party, yet enjoying it the least. “I really found a niche and need for it,” Patrone explained.

From something as simple as taking coats (and helping guests find them at the end of the night), to full-scale bar service, there is nothing too big or too small. “You can hire one person, 10 people, a bartender, a server… We’re flexible—we can do whatever you need,” Patrone describes. “They trust this person in their home, they can let them do their thing, and then they can actually feel like a guest at their party.” Plus, clients love waking up to a clean house the next day.

Story continues below

Holiday Party Tips from Renée Patrone

Whether you’re throwing a party yourself or hiring Party Host Helpers, we asked Renée Patrone for some tips to make your holiday event even better!

• If you’re doing an Evite, ask your guests their favorite song or Christmas song when they RSVP. This will help you put together a playlist everyone will love. “It makes you feel like you have a DJ even if you don’t!” she says.

• And for the bar, Patrone tells us, “People get a little crazy with the cocktails they can make so I always keep it simple.” She suggests two beer choices, a red, a white, a sparkling, and a signature cocktail.

Here is one of her suggestions for a signature holiday cocktail—the Sparkling Cosmopolitan:

After frequently being asked for catering assistance over the past few years, creating a catering partnership was the logical next step, and Party Host Helpers teamed up with Gia Bella Catering for drop off and full service catering in the tri-state area.

“You can feed a family and not have to worry about cooking,” Julian Shortt, founder of Gia Bella Catering, tells us. They will customize menus for each of their clients and work within their budget, accommodating any dietary restrictions they may have. Staffers from Party Host Helpers will reheat and plate everything so everything is fresh—plus they clean up as they go, and do all the dishes, because “by the end of the night you just want to go to sleep!”

Gia Bella Catering is named after Shortt’s toddler daughter, herself named after his great-grandmother (who passed at age 101 just before the younger Gia was born). Honoring the roots of his family and business are essentially the same, since so much family time was spent working in the business. Shortt grew up in a restaurant working the line, answering phones, greeting guests and flipping pies from the second he could see over the counter. The company’s slogan “Love of family and food” is reflected in all they do, and the business includes three generations of Shortt’s family, carrying on the Italian and Jewish culinary traditions with which he grew up.

“A lot of people lose it nowadays, especially with how spread apart the generations are. But I worked with my grandmother 40 hours a week for years. I didn’t realize how lucky I was,” Shortt reflects.

From small residential parties to large corporate events, Party Host Helpers has now expanded to over 30 cities across the country. It is no surprise that this need has proven so universal—no matter who you are, what your budget is, or what your party looks like, the need for genuine connection is something we all crave. It is essentially why we throw parties in the first place, so for a business to come along and actually let their clients achieve that is truly something to celebrate.

Photographs provided by Party Host Helpers.