Dinner parties can be a way to celebrate life milestones, career events, or even the arrival or departure of someone dear to us. Whatever the purpose behind the dinner parties we host, one thing is for sure. We want the people we invite into our home for an intimate experience along with good food to enjoy the time they spend attending the party.
As a host, planning and executing the perfect dinner party can be a lot to handle. You have to think of a menu that considers all the food sensitivities of people coming, the set up of the dining place, and kicking things up a notch by bringing in a few light drinks and some good music playing in the background.
Getting a rough idea of the preparation required to host a successful dinner party may sound stressful, but we’re here to tell you that you can avoid the bag of stress from hitting you.
Here’s how you can do that:
1. Decide on your guest list and dates.
At-home dinner parties are almost always intimate. This means that you only invite people who are close to you. Family members and some close friends are the top choices, but is the party something related to work? If yes, you can opt to invite some of your colleagues who you know a bit more than the others.
Another thing to consider when creating your guest list is the date. You’d want to set the date to a day when everyone you plan on inviting can attend without problems. Because why would you exhaust yourself preparing when your guests can’t even show up due to schedule conflicts?
If a majority of them can’t be with you on a specific date, change to a new one that is favorable to most, if not all, of your guests. Try to set the date on a Friday or a Saturday, especially if you plan on preparing alcoholic beverages. You don’t want you or anyone to be out of condition the morning after the dinner party.
The dates will also help you rent out audio equipment, look for cleaning services, and many more. You want everything set up to arrive on the day of your dinner party.
2. Meticulously plan the menu.
In planning a dinner party menu that will serve your party’s best interests, you should depend on what you’re celebrating. Are you hosting the dinner party to show off your skills in the kitchen? If you are, then your focus should be on what you prepare and how.
Showing off your culinary skills would mean you have to lean towards cooking what you best cook and hoping your guests would love them and not encounter any of their food sensitivities along the way. To make sure none of your attendees get problems with the food you’ll prepare during the party, you should gather as much as you can on their preferences and sensitivities. The last thing you want is to see someone off to the hospital due to an allergic reaction.
3. Prep in advance.
Even if the planned dinner party is three weeks away, you’d want to confirm everyone’s schedule, contact appropriate services, plan the menu, and rent out what you need to host the party without hiccups.
On the day of the dinner, preparing in advance will pay off. You’d have plenty of time to mingle with your guests because everything has been prepared and will work without you handling all of them. Not only do you get to enjoy what you worked so hard for, but you also make your guests feel welcomed and seen during the dinner.
You’re celebrating something positive, which means you shouldn’t be scurrying around in the kitchen or trying to get everyone to talk to each other during the party. Prepare everything you can get ready in advance and let everything flow smoothly during the awaited evening.
Dinner parties hosted at home are more intimate than ones hosted in restaurants. You let people into your humble abode, prepare their food, and set the tone of the party all by yourself. You wouldn’t be able to do all of that in a dinner party hosted in a restaurant where other people outside your guest list can barge in.
The preparation may sound like a lot, but all will be worth it when you see your guests and yourself enjoying the party. It can be an event that will be discussed for weeks, and you’ll be known as an awesome host.
