If you have been here for a minute you know how passionate I am about using the 5 senses when it comes to design. It makes the biggest impact. The same goes to throwing any type of event or small gathering with family. I thought it would be fun to break down an easy step for each of the 5 senses that you can take when planning your next holiday get together. This works no matter how big or small the event. Did you know that when all five senses are stimulated, we remember events more clearly and appreciate them even more?

Take these easy few steps and you will be sure to have everyone loving and enjoying your holiday gathering. It is all about making it FEEL special!

SIGHT- Although this feels like the most important when planning, it is one that is easily forgotten by most people in attendance a few months down the road. So don’t stress yourself out too much. Pull out a few “extra” things you wouldn’t have at your typical dinner. Maybe that’s having a floral centerpiece, a few extra candles, and a nice tablecloth. Keep it simple.

SMELL- An interesting fact for you. More people will be impacted by smell than any of the other senses. A year later they will be able to tell you more about how something smelled than visuals. Such as what color your tablecloths were, etc.

Of course the main smell at any event will most likely be coming from the food! Which hopefully will have an amazing aroma. But what about the smell before all the food is pulled out when guests first arrive? Or after when dinner is over? My personal favorite is to use my diffuser. I love having the ability to really be in control of the exact scent as well as how strong it is. I put less drops in my diffuser when I know it will be mixing with the aroma from food. I also will use an oil that mixes well with what I am serving. That could be something citrus like orange, or maybe something a little more grounding like cinnamon.

HEARING- I LOVE a good calming playlist. Music greatly can impact a mood of the room. Depending on what you are wanting your guests to do could also effect your choice of music. Do you want them to talk? Maybe choose music without lyrics. Do you want them to get up and dance? Pick something more upbeat. You get the idea! One of my favorite calm playlists can be found HERE.

TASTE- Everybody loves good food. And guess what? It’s typically the most remembered thing from an event or gathering. Think about it. Can you remember what you ate the last time you went to your Grandma’s? Or what you had for your birthday dinner last year? Most people can.

If you want someone to remember your food, smoking it is one really easy way to accomplish that. We have been loving our Traeger Pros 575 SO MUCH. I try and use it almost any time we are planning a get together. It makes everything taste so much better. You can smoke your meat and really anything else. We have smoked potatoes, veggies, pies, pizza, mac and cheese and so much more. Because you can pick your own pellet flavor it makes it fun to add that smoky flavor to any of your classic dishes. For the holiday’s we are smoking a ham and using THIS RECIPE.

TOUCH-This particular sense has a lot of different sides to it. It can be looked at as the actual things your guests touch. The furniture, silverware, cups, etc. Are they soft, good quality, easy to use, etc. Although it is true that those things can make a difference, I like to focus on the touch that happens between those we love and are spending time with at the event or gathering. If we are hosting them in our home than they are probably pretty important to us.

So my biggest tip when it comes to touch is to plan ahead of your get together to have everything as prepared and ready as it can be so you can actually enjoy your time with your guests. This is another reason why I love using our Traeger Pro 575 because it actually allows us to be inside with our guests instead of out at the grill. The app is amazing and allows you to control the temperature, check your probe temp, set your timer and anything else that you may need to check on while you are inside spending quality time with those you love. Not only can you just check on those things but if you need to change it, it allows you to do that straight from your phone as well. When you are ready to order your Traeger Pro Grill from Home Depot they will actually deliver it for free!

That’s it. Some super simple steps to hopefully make your next holiday gathering a huge success! If you implement any of these tips I would love to hear if it made a difference for you. As always thanks for being here. You guys mean the world.