Throwing a dinner party is one of the hardest things you can do as a host. It’s up to you to make sure everything is completely organized from the get go. From invites and guest, to menu planning and wine. You need to ensure all the little details are taken care of, not to mention making sure your guests have a great time. A dinner party can be a great event for almost any occasion. It could be a special birthday or anniversary. Maybe even something more casual like celebrating a child’s birth or a get together the night before a wedding. There’s a whole host of reasons why you may decide to ost a dinner party, but how do you go about it?Let’s be honest. We have all been to a dinner party ourselves that perhaps hasn’t gone to plan. As a guest you notice the little things that could have been done better. Needless to say you still have a perfectly enjoyable evening. But how do you give your dinner party the wow factor? How do you ensure nothing goes wrong on your night? This is why I thought I would share with you some top tips to help you throw the ultimate dinner party. Whatever the occasion you will be ready to perform.
Know your guest list as soon as possible
The first thing you need to know is who is coming and how many people are there. This will help you plan for every other detail for your dinner party. It is also essential to know who is coming so you can accommodate for vegetarians, lifestyle choices and even allergies. Knowing your guest list enables you to plan a menu and the evening’s proceedings in advance. The more you plan, the better prepared you are. Which means you can enjoy the evening as well as spending it stressing over tiny details. Getting invitations out is important as soon as possible. You could decide to send something out formally or even set up an email group or text message. How you decide to do it is immaterial to your evening, just make sure everyone has plenty of notice.
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Menu plan
Now you know who you have to come this is where the fun can begin. Menu planning is great and an essential part of your dinner party preparation. It will allow you to source the best ingredients, make things in advance and even try out the recipes before your guests arrive. Your family will be sick of eating the same meal by the time you are through. It will also allow you to work out the timings as well. This means you can relax a little knowing everything is on hand for the big night.
A menu plan not only needs to work with each course, but also the drinks you may want to serve. Ensure that any wine you choose works well with any meat or protein you are serving. You may even want to consider other options and even a dessert wine to finish off. It’s details like this that can enhance your evening. Planning in advance helps you work out how to source the best ingredients. But it also ensures that you can take into consideration any lifestyle choices like veganism or vegetarianism. It will also help you recognize any allergies you will have to consider.
Serve up something extra special
Give your dinner party the extra edge by serving up something special. This might be a special ingredient or an aperitif like caviar. It will make your dinner party that little bit different from the normal ones and gives yours the extra edge. It would be nice to consider offering your guest something a little different to experience. It will certainly be a talking point.
Where are you hosting the dinner party?
Once you have your guest list and potential numbers another crucial thing to decide is the location you want to host your dinner party. Do you plan on doing at home or somewhere else? Of course, if it is a small party then being at home would be the obvious choice. However, you may prefer the grander location for a larger amount of guests. It could also help determine your location by the occasion in which the dinner party is being held. Perhaps you want something more special than your home because it’s a specific occasion. Like a milestone birthday or anniversary date.
Do you have a theme for your dinner party?
Of course, knowing the occasion for the dinner party may help with whether or not there is a theme. This tends to be for the decoration side of things. You might want to consider a color scheme or even have something a little different to coincide with your menu choices. The options are endless.
Decorate the room
Think about how you present the table and the room you’re serving your food in. Many people don’t do anything with the room, but it can offer quite a bit of ambience to the evening. A decorated room could set the tone for the evening. So if it’s a celebration make sure that’s evident in the decor. You can find inspiration on websites like https://pinterest.com/.
Make sure you have the right dinnerware and cutlery
How you serve your drinks and food is just as important as the food itself. Often we eat with our eyes and if something looks well presented then it just tantalizes the taste buds even more. Think about the glassware you serve your drinks in. If you are wanting something a little more unique then head to websites like withmywine.com. Many people choose to serve their food on their best china. Just make sure you consider this little ahead of time in case you need to make any new purchases before the big day.
What about gifts?
It seems that there is a growing trend where a host will give a gift to their guest for attending their evening. A little bit like when you would receive a wedding favor when attending the big day. So what do you think of this? Is it something you should do? The decision is truly up to yourself. There is no right or wrong answer. What it does do is show thought ad it is a little details that will often make an evening.
You may also want to consider letting people take food away with them. Perhaps a piece of cake from dessert or even anything leftover. It’s an excellent way to not waste any food and I’m sure your guest will love this. Especially if the food you served was super tasty.
Make sure you get RSVP’s back in ample time
It’s not always possible to get a reply back straight away about somebody’s attendance. But it’s important to know who will or will not be attending within ample time. This helps you plan your whole evening. It might be worth including a deadline response in the invite or on the message you send inviting your guests in the first place.
Finally, make sure you relax
After all it is your evening and you are the hostess with the mostess. Planning way ahead of time presents you with the perfect opportunity to enjoy the evening festivities yourself. You will want to socialize with your guests to make your evening the ultimate dinner party.
Awesome tips!
Great tips! Thanks for sharing
Great tips for having a dinner party, it is especially important to get back the RSVP
i think give a gift is a great idea; it can be something as small as a homemade treat packaged for them for later or a handmade gift from one of your children. great tips!!
thanks! this will come in handy for the holidays!