Hosting an event can be stressful and quite demanding. Whether it is a holiday gathering at your home or a potluck or bake-off, you want to be ready to host. All event hosting has similar steps to follow. Gatherings of family and friends lead to fun and bonding moments that are memorable forever, especially when you have food tied to it. People experience love and laughter which leads to a successful gathering.

To host a bake-off at home there are certain steps you must take and things to consider. If you are hosting in your home, its ideal to prepare ahead of time. You want to make sure that your home is not only ready for guests but for lots of food as well. This could be a successful gathering if you have the right tips to follow, here is a list of them:

1. Advertise the bake-off

The first step to having a bake-off is making sure you advertise it. People won't show up if they don’t know about it. You could create a simple flyer online and advertise to your friends and family. Utilize your social media accounts to reach those friends you don’t necessarily have direct contact with that want to participate. You could even appoint people to participate to make it exciting and fun. Don’t limit yourself to only skilled bakers, try amateurs and beginners to add spark to your competition. This will also lead to many conversations about techniques and styles of baking.

You want people to feel comfortable in your home and how else to do that than with comforting desserts. Try to limit the number of contestants to around 10 to save everyone’s bellies from overeating pains. If you want you could invite more people to taste test and vote on the best. Determine if you want your contestants to bake at your home or their own. This will be based on how much space you have in your home.

Organizing

Organize your bake-off to be a smooth and exciting event. If you are having the participants bake inside your kitchen, make sure to have all of the necessary baking supplies. You should have the kitchen essentials but if you are unsure of what the basic equipment for baking is, here are a few items:

● Spatulas

● Baking sheets

● Rolling pins

● Mixing bowls

● Cake tins

● Cupcake trays, and etc

Select your judges and arrange for there to be balloted for voting. Make sure you implement rules to prevent chaos and unnecessary issues.

2. Decide on a theme

You should decide on what theme you want to implement. Your theme could be based on a specific type of dessert or a region or culture. Having a theme will make this bake-off so much fun and will also teach many people about other types of foods. You could even use your favorite film themes like ‘Game of Thrones’ as a theme or your favorite holidays.

Make sure it is a theme that everyone knows and wants to participate in. You don't want to ask your participants to bake goods based on a theme they have no interest in as it just will not be as fun.

3. Encourage variety

Variety should be encouraged to keep things interesting. You don’t want to have a bake-off and everyone brings the same exact dish. No one wants to eat different variations of brownies or cakes. Make sure you make it clear that your contestants have the freedom of choosing which dessert type to bake. This will also make it easier to taste and enjoy when its time to dig in.

4. Determine what drink fits your theme

You want the right kinds of beverages at your party. Make sure to research the theme you are using to find drinks that fit the dessert. Water is nice but not everyone will want to drink that with their dessert. Try to find juices or unique drinks that will complement the dessert in the contest. If you decide to offer adult drinks, try to choose lighter beverages, like champagne or spritzers to limit sickness.

5. Provide smaller plates

Include that your bake-off will be a small plate affair so that your guests can have enough room to taste everything. Dessert can be heavy and it can be easy to get full after a couple of portions, but if you keep the plates smaller you’re making your guests eat smaller portions.

6. Have a place to showcase desserts

Determine how you want to showcase your contestants’ desserts. You can have a table set up for presentation. Make sure to keep it clean and clean looking. To do this you can have a simple table cloth and add note cards with the dessert type. You want to note the ingredients in the desserts to avoid any allergic reactions.

You want to have a place for your desserts. Whether it is a special container like cupcake holders or pie baskets, there are ways to hold items that don’t necessarily need to be stored in the fridge.

7. Create room in your fridge

Create room in your refrigerator to make space for the extra desserts coming t your home. You want to be able to store anything that needs to be chilled, like cheesecakes, ice cream and more. Remove any old and expired items and arrange the items you need in an organized way so that you can place more than one dessert in your fridge. You could even remove some shelves if a contestants dessert is tall and requires more room vertically.

Make sure to clean your fridge as well. You don’t want people to have to place their tasty food inside a filthy fridge. This may take a little time depending on how clean it already is, so schedule a time before the bake-off to prepare your fridge.

8. Have to-go containers on hand

There will be a lot of desserts at your home and m sure you don’t want to keep them all. People will need to take their desserts home and others may want to keep eating other's dessert later. You should have to-go containers for them to utilize so they can go home happy and you can stay home happy without having to figure out how to get rid of so many desserts.