Hosting a dinner party? Here are some great tips to make your evening a success.
Check your guests’ dietary requirements
Do any of your guests have allergies or intolerances? Are any of your guests vegetarians or vegans? This can be worth asking about before you start preparing any food - especially if you don’t know some of the diners very well. From gluten-free bread to vegan hot sauce, there are many ingredients out there nowadays that you can buy to accomodate to specialist dietary requirements. Even if no-one has any strict dietary requirements, you may find that certain guests are fussy eaters, so it’s always worth checking what your guests will and won’t eat so that everyone enjoys their meal.
Consider where guests will sit
On top of making sure that there are enough seats, you might want to consider where everyone sits. If all your diners are likely to get on well, then this may not be too much of a problem, but if there are certain people who you know don’t get along too well, you may want to place them away from one another. Try to make sure that everyone has enough elbow room and that the table isn’t too close to the wall so that people can easily get in and out (this might not always be possible if you don’t have the space, although it may be possible to rearrange some furniture for the occasion).
Prepare as much as you can in advance
Preparing as much of the meal as you can in advance will allow you to enjoy the evening instead of being stuck in the kitchen. Being there to host your guests could also be important if certain people need to be introduced to one another or have never visited your home before. There may be elements of the meal that you can cook early in the day, refrigerate and then warm up later. Even chopping up vegetables and measuring ingredients in advance will help to free up time later. Make sure that you haven’t got too many plans earlier in the day so that you can use this time. You can find tips on prepping a dinner party in advance online.
Get creative with your tablescape
‘Tablescaping’ is the art of dressing the table. It could be a fun idea to give the dinner party a theme and dress the table accordingly such as a beach theme or an Italian theme or a winter theme. Consider investing in some fun decorative pieces such as unique wine bottle holders, quirky candles and unusual glasses - these could be great conversation starters. There are lots of tablescape ideas online that you can look into.
Keep everyone’s drinks topped up
Don’t let people’s glasses remain empty. Make sure that you’ve stocked up on enough drinks and ask people if they need topping up throughout the night. If you know everyone pretty well, you could allow them to simply grab their own drinks - setting up a self-service bar in the corner of the room could be a fun touch.
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