Prepare your venue

If you're holding a house party you will need to get elbow deep in soapy water and dusters. Pack away the valuables and get the dog/fish/cat a babysitter. Ever wondered what happens when you feed a fish gin? So have your guests. Where possible reserve an area for the smokers - advisably the garden or balcony, otherwise provide plenty of ashtrays to avoid your couch being mistaken for one. Unplug your television if you cannot hide it altogether. A switched on TV has a horrible way of mesmerising people and robs the bubbliest of people of their social skills. Remember it's a Christmas party so decorate with tasteful decorations such as plain fairy lights that don't sing festive tunes. Jingle Bells mixed in with Bohemian Rhapsody sounds plain wrong.

Be a good host, pre-party

Once you have secured your big day, notify the neighbours. It's only polite that you give them time to soundproof the walls and prevents the party being gatecrashed by the boys in blue - and we don't mean the Smurfs. Proper preparation can mean the difference between a full-swing evening of fun and frolics, or a night of awkward shuffling slowly towards the door before midnight.

Pre-select your party tracks or order a good DJ (who you have heard before). If no DJ is available, arrange all of the songs that you like and that you know will get the people in the party mood. Remember that you are catering for all tastes so if you're the only ABBA fan in the group, don't spring a sudden tribute night to them as the night will be over before you can say Thank You For The Music.