Create a plan for keeping guests happy and entertained as they move from one activity to the next.

Party Preparations
Our readers offered a number of helpful suggestions for planning the perfect progressive party:
• Set the date and send out invitations a month in advance to make sure potential partygoers aren't otherwise engaged.
• On your invitations, ask guests to RSVP ASAP with the food or task they'll be responsible for so you'll have time to make changes if needed.
• Once you've firmed up your menu and activities, tackle the logistics. If it's a luminaria walk, how much time is needed to pass out supplies? For a progressive dinner, how much time will guests need at each house to eat and relax? Then make a written schedule, noting important times, the order of homes, and everyone's chosen responsibilities.

Breaking the Ice
To help guests ease into party mode, Betsy Omeis and her neighbors in San Antonio devised a game that's an instant conversation-starter. They gather a selection of the previous year's Christmas cards (one card for every two party guests), tear off the backs, and cut the covers in half. On the back of each half, they jot down three simple ice-breaking questions. (For example: "If you could go anywhere in the world and be there tomorrow, where would you go?" or "Who's your favorite cartoon character?") Before the party, they stash the cards in a bowl by the door, then they ask each arriving guest to reach in and grab one. The object of the game: find the half that matches your own, and when you do, pose the questions on the back -- a process that naturally sets happy mingling in motion.