Every so often, you will feel like getting together with family, friends, and loved ones. The modern technology gadgets can connect you with everyone but still, there is something missing. Greeting others with a hug, laughing together, making jokes, and having face to face conversations make us happier and stress-free.
You might be thinking about having a dinner party and inviting a few guests over. That would be great, but there are little tips and tricks that you should know before sending out invitations. You don’t have to have a large guest list to put your all in the planning and make the event one to remember.
Even if your guest list is small, you may still have to put a lot of thought and planning into it. There are things that you have to start thinking about. For example, recipes, drinks, menu, do’s and don’ts, stress-free kitchen management, setting the table, seating arrangements, time of the party, music, lighting, and the list could keep going on depending on the type of dinner party.
There should be fun and laughter amongst everyone. Big laughs and strong connections to keep everyone at ease.
Cater For Each Personality Type
Each person has a different personality. There are no two persons that have the same personality. And if you should study about personality, you will be surprised of the different type of people you have to deal with throughout life. Here are some interesting facts about the different types of personalities. At your dinner party, you should try to match these different personalities together as much as possible when it comes to seating.
The Fascinator: Guest with an intriguing, personal story.
The Charmer: Guest that talks to everyone about anything.
Extrovert: Guest that is outgoing, and creates energy.
Introvert: Guest who is not comfortable socializing with people.
Opinonator: Guest who likes a lively debate.
Mysterious: Guests who you find it hard to figure out.
Then of course, you have the Guest of Honor and the Party Host/Hostess.
Make The Perfect Setting
There are a few things that you should avoid doing, so as not to crash your dinner party. Try to avoid brights lights, and use low voltage lamps. Candles of different types are best to use. This makes the room flattering. Whenever a guest enters a room to the smell of food, it makes the guest feels that he is welcomed, and ready to eat. Never use scented candles, diffusers, or plugged in air fresheners. They tend to take away that aroma scent of food, and some people may be allergic.
Try to make each guest feel that they are important without telling them. Tie a ribbon around some pine cones, or even cinnamon sticks. Write the names of each guest on strips of paper, and pin them to the ribbons.
Entertainment for your guest is very important. Music should not be loud, so as to disturb your neighbors and making the cops pay you a visit. Positive conversations are very important so that everyone with different personalities can be a part of it. Try starting off the evening, with some trivia, jokes, guessing games, and a true or false quiz to spice up each and everyone’s appetite.
Proper Meal Planning
Don’t be extravagant when it comes to spending for this dinner party. Budget carefully and wisely, so that you don’t have a lot of leftovers after the party. A good idea is to make a list of all the persons you intend to invite, and figure out how much bites of food each person will take. Sit-down dinners are cheaper to deal with. So for a sit-down dinner, each person may consume 2 lbs of food including appetizer and dessert. Assume that each person will consume 2 cocktails or half a bottle of wine.
Whenever you are inviting your guests, make sure you indicate how long cocktails will be served and at what time dinner will be served. It is so awkward for a guest to be walking in during the middle of dinner, and the poor host has to be distracted by getting the latecomer settled.
Simplify The Table
Instead of crowding the table the old fashioned way with three plates, knives, forks and spoons, you can cut it right down to one plate, knife, fork, and spoon per person. Create food that goes well together in one plate. This method will also make cleaning up much easier.
Start Setting Things Up From The Day Before
Always try to start preparing from early. Don’t wait until the last minute. Setting the table from overnight, and getting rid of additional house cleaning and organization chores will give you enough time to get your house prepared for your dinner party guests.
However, on the day of your party, take a last-minute check in your bathroom to make sure it is fully stocked.
Put Up A Sign For Direction
Many of your guests may not exactly remember where your home is located, so its best to put a welcome sign, indicating that they have reached the right place.
Greet Your Guests Properly
Just imagine how a guest would feel when he/she enters the house, and they are greeted with a loving hug, and a glass of red or white wine. Greet your guests in a warm and welcoming manner, and have bottles of water on hand, for those who are non-drinkers.
Sharing all these ideas with you should help you whenever or wherever you might be planning to have a dinner party. Remember, it is better to have a small dinner party than a large one, which you might not be able to control if you are new to hosting parties. Have fun dining with your guests!
