January Gathering Guide

If you want to host more this year, then this one is for you.

Jan 16, 2026

Happy New Year! So, we’re two weeks in. How’s it going? We spent Christmas in Chicago, came home for a day and drove up the beach cabin to celebrate New Years and my sis-in-law’s birthday. Then came home and hit the ground running.

What does the year ahead look like for you? Is it a year of transition? Stability? Travel? New opportunities?

As I look ahead and think about how I want to host I quickly become discouraged. It’s ski season here which means many people are gone on the weekends. Most of our friends have kids in sports which takes up a lot of time. I’ll be traveling a few times in the upcoming months. When will I see my people?

Do you ever feel this way?

When I broke it down I felt more hopeful. If I host once a week, any combination of people, that’s 52 gatherings a year! That is incredible! But maybe for some, overwhelming and unrealistic. So, what about once a month? That is 12 times a year. Still so great! Could you set aside one day a month to have people over? I even think about holidays. Could you/I host a super bowl party? Galentines Day? Easter brunch? 4th of July? And so on. The major holidays would land us at about a dozen or so hostings a year.

Why is this breakdown important? If we leave ourselves at “I want to host more this year.” It won’t happen as often as we want it to. The weeks will go by and before we know it we will not have hosted. We need a plan. And if you need to pivot along the way, great! Maybe you find Saturdays are too stressful and Monday nights would work better.

Whatever your desires are for this year, take some time to ask yourself a few questions:

Who do you want to invite over?
How often are you able to host?
What style do you prefer?
- potluck
- casual
- fancy dinner
- holidays
- theme nights
Is there someone you could ask to join you in hosting together?