#Collaborative post
As you get older, you become less interested in wild nights out and epic drinking sessions. When you approach middle age, you don’t have the energy for these kinds of antics. It is much more enjoyable to spend time with friends in a civilised manner, eating delicious food, drinking a sensible amount of wine and engaging in stimulating conversation.
And that’s why a dinner party is one of the best forms of social gathering you can have. It allows you and your loved ones to connect over a table festooned with culinary delights, without the distractions of thumping music and expensive drinks bills.
We all love going to dinner parties, but what about hosting one in your own home? This can come with a whole range of stresses and worries that can diminish your enjoyment in the event. Not only do you have to cook a huge meal for a large group, but you have to prepare your home in advance and make sure you have enough furniture and cutlery to accommodate everyone. And that’s not mentioning the post-dinner cleaning and washing up you’ll have to do.
But if you get it right, hosting a dinner party can be incredibly rewarding and enjoyable. It doesn’t have to be stressful as long as you plan in advance and adopt the right organisation strategies. To get you on your way, here are ten great tips for hosting an amazing dinner party.
Plan well in advance
The sooner you start planning your dinner party, the higher the chance of you getting it right. Don’t leave things to the last minute or you will inevitably end up panicking and making mistakes. From the guest list to the menu and entertainment, make sure you have a thorough plan from the outset. This gives you plenty of time to source the right ingredients, find out the dietary requirements of your guests, and deal with any unexpected issues that may crop up along the way. By the time the big night rolls around, you will be calm and relaxed, enjoying peace of mind that everything is under control and nothing can go wrong.
Choose your guest list wisely
Who are you going to invite to your dinner party? You no doubt have a huge list of friends and family you’d love to cook for, but inviting every single person in your contact list may not be practical. You have to think about the space in your home and around your dinner table. It’s much easier to restrict your dinner party to one particular friendship group, or just your closest loved ones. If there are too many people attending, you will struggle to fit everyone in your home comfortably, and preparing enough food in a small kitchen could be a logistical nightmare. Keep things small and sweet, and enjoy an intimate evening with close friends.
Send out invitations
Even though you may have been chatting about the dinner party with your friends for weeks, it’s a good idea to send out an official invite. This can take the form of a group text, an email, or even a letter sent through the post. The format doesn’t matter, but the content does. Use this invitation to give your guests all necessary information about your dinner party. As well as the key information like date, time, and location, you should also take care to give further details they might need. Give directions to those who have never been to your house before. Tell them whether they should bring anything, what to wear, or if there is a particular theme. This eliminates all potential confusion and awkwardness around the event, and will ensure the evening gets off to a great start.
Plan the right menu
The food is obviously the focal point to any great dinner party. You want to create a delicious meal that all of your guests will enjoy. With a large number of people in attendance, this can sometimes be difficult. Particularly if you have picky eaters round the table, or people with specific dietary requirements.
Your first step, before you even start planning the menu, is to make sure you are aware of any special requirements or strong dislikes. This will inform your choice of menu. Decide whether you want to create the same food for everyone, or make a separate dish for those with certain requirements. For example, if you have a table of omnivores with one person who is vegan, gluten-free and lactose intolerant, it may be simpler to cook a separate meal for this person. On the other hand, if you have a couple of vegetarians and several carnivores, it’s unlikely anyone will complain if you just choose to make a meat-free menu.
You’re no doubt used to cooking for a small number of people, so don’t overcomplicate things. Opt for a menu that is simple and easy to prepare yet still looks and tastes great. You don’t want to be sweating and slaving away in the kitchen while all your guests are having a great time round the table. Make sure you do all your prep, such as chopping vegetables, before your guests arrive.
Ask guests to bring something
Making a huge three course meal from scratch is a huge task, as well as being incredibly expensive. Save yourself time and money by asking your attendees to bring a little something. This could be a bottle of wine, a starter, a side dish, or a dessert. This will greatly reduce your stress levels and allow you to focus on the all-important main course. It will bring down your costs in throwing the event, and make everything a little bit easier.
Accommodate everyone
You need to ensure you have the space in your home to fit everyone around the dinner table. You probably aren’t used to hosting more than a small handful of loved ones, so you may not even have enough chairs or a table big enough. You don’t need to go out and buy a whole new seating arrangement or a luxury quality 10 seater dining table, as you may not be hosting many dinner parties in the future. Instead, move some furniture from other rooms in your home for your guests to use. You could also ask a neighbour if they wouldn’t mind lending you some seating for the event. Using your office desk to extend your dining table, or arranging mismatched chairs is not a big issue. It is only for one evening and it’s unlikely your guests will mind, or even notice.
Select a playlist
A dinner party is all about sparkling conversation and good times. Hopefully, your guests all know and like each other, so there will be no awkward silences. But it’s always good to have some background music to set the tone. This can be a great talking point as well as creating the right atmosphere for your event. The particular choice of playlist you opt for will depend on the type of dinner party you want to host. If it is to be a calm, civilised meal then you may want some classical music or an acoustic playlist. But if you and your friends are high energy, then you may want some thumping rock and pop tunes instead.
Be a great host
Even though you have a lot of work to do, it’s important you spend as much time as possible with your guests. You are the host, so you need to chat to everyone and make sure they are all happy, comfortable and well-fed. Never let a guest’s glass go empty, and keep checking in throughout the evening. If you have done all your prep in advance, the time spent in the kitchen should be minimal. Try to be as present as possible and attentive to all your guests’ needs.
Ask for help
Throwing a dinner party for a large group is no mean feat. It takes a lot of time and hard work to get it right. But there’s no reason you should have to shoulder this burden all by yourself. Ask a friend or family member to help you with the preparation. This will speed things up in the kitchen and relieve some of the associated stress. And at the end of the evening, if the prospect of all that tidying and washing up is weighing on your mind, ask your guests if they can help you clear up. Most people will be happy to help, especially if you have gone to all the trouble of cooking for them.
Enjoy the evening
A dinner party should be an enjoyable evening. Not just for your guests but for you, the host, too. Even though you have a lot on your plate, try your hardest to have a good time as well. Chat to your friends, have a laugh, and don’t take your dinner party too seriously. If something goes wrong, it will not be the end of the world. All that matters is that everyone has fun.