It's that time of the year again- holiday party time! Whether you'll be drinking too much wine at your company party and embarrassing yourself in front of co-workers, attending an ugly sweater party, or hosting your own bash, 'tis the season to be merry!

If you told all your friends last summer that you'd be the one holding the gala and now you're starting to regret it, don't worry! Throwing the perfect holiday bash isn't as stressful as you think! Just follow these simple steps and you can enjoy your night along with all your joyful guests!

Think of a theme and stick to it. Whether it's Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, an ugly sweater party, even an 80's holiday party, a theme makes it fun and easy to plan. When you have a theme, it's easy to coordinate the invitations, decorations and food selection. For a Christmas party you can decorate with ornaments, lights, and faux wrapped presents and make Christmas cookies. For an ugly sweater party, your guests would all wear ugly Christmas sweaters, you could have cheesy Christmas carols playing in the background and guests could enjoy their spiked eggnog and hot chocolate with peppermint schnapps in holiday mugs. Have fun with it!

If you're pulling a Martha Stewart and cooking everything yourself, more power to you! But most hosts like to ask their guests to pitch in and bring a certain dessert, salad or a bottle of wine. Or you could go ahead and have a potluck and have everyone bring their favorite dish and you'll simply only have one dish to cook up! Your guests will feel like a part of the party planning and you'll be at a minimal stress level.

Have fun board games like Apples to Apples or Scattegories on the table for guests to play if they would like or write in the invitation that you'll be playing group Cranium. You can never go wrong with boozing and board games! If people don't want to participate they'll be the ones looking like party poopers to your creative hosting ideas!

Have a movie or soft music playing in the background as an ice breaker and to keep guests occupied. Another good idea is to have fun pictures of your friends hanging up everywhere for decorations and memory joggers. You could even make your own photo opportunity spot with a life size stand up cutout. Get a piece of plywood and paint a big Santa Claus or bikini clad girl on the front, cut out where the face is supposed to be and have your guests pose behind it. Snap their pictures with a Polaroid and give it to them to bring home.

You could also give your guests a grab bag to take home so they will always remember that fun night! You can make cookies or brownies and wrap them up individually for everyone, or fill up a little bag with random treats from the Dollar store!

Most importantly, make sure you're having fun and don't get worked up about anything. Everything will go smooth and when you're happy, your guests will be happy. Have a safe a happy holiday!

Story by Erin Demchak

Starpulse contributing writer