There comes a time when nights out in bars and clubs, drinking and dancing, no longer has the same appeal. You’d much rather hang out at home with your friends, chatting and laughing over a bottle of chardonnay. This is great, but if you want to organize a more formal get-together, a dinner party is the next best thing.
Whether you are organizing a dinner party for close friends or your partner has invited your boss over in the hope of schmoozing him a bit, here is our guide to planning a dinner party without too much stress.
Contents
Send Out the Invites
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Don’t make any firm plans before you have a fixed date in the diary. These days, we all lead busy lives, so it’s essential that you pin your guests down to a date. The last thing you want is to have your menu ready to go, only for half of your guests bale at the last minute. Send out invites via email or on social media and wait until you get a firm response back in writing.
Prepare a Menu
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Plan your menu well in advance. This is not a good time to try some weird and wonderful experimental dish. Your dinner party won’t be a success if your dishes are burned, raw, or inedible. It’s also poor form for the host or hostess to spend the entire dinner party in the kitchen, sweating over a hot pan or scraping food off the floor.
Make life easier and stick to tried and tested dishes or buy in pre-prepared food. You can buy clam chowder online, so that’s at least one course sorted. Stick to simple yet attractive desserts like trifle or homemade ice-cream with shortcake.
Note: always check dietary preferences before you prepare a menu. Finding out someone is lactose intolerant five minutes before you serve a cream dessert is not great.
Buy Lots of Wine and Beer
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Have plenty of wine available. It is surprising how fast wine disappears when the conversation is flowing, and everyone is having fun. The last thing you need is to run out of wine halfway through the main course and have to nip out to the nearest 7/11 to replenish your supplies.
Cater for everyone’s taste and don’t forget to provide some alcohol-free alternatives for anyone who has to drive home.
Stage Your Table
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Create a seating plan and stage your table. Make some table decorations or stick to fresh flowers. Lay the table long before your guests arrive, so you don’t have to rush around when they do arrive. If you have kids, this is something they can do for you.
Polish the cutlery and glassware and have some scented candles ready. Light the candles before your guests arrive, so the room is nice and fragrant.
Prepare Pre-Dinner Drinks
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Mix some cocktails or have a selection of spirits available, so your guests can have a G&T or a cocktail when they arrive.
All that remains is to tidy the house within an inch of its life and be prepared to welcome your guests!
