The ultimate host makes a dinner party seem effortless and simple. Here are seven hacks that will surely amp up the hosting game for any dinner gathering.
1. Provide Options for Restricted Diets
These days, it seems like everyone has some sort of dietary restriction.8 Hacks for Hosting Dinner Parties
2. Amp Up the Atmosphere
Strike a match and light some candles on the dinner table. Add a twinkling scented candle or two in the guests’ bathroom as well. Use cloth napkins and plates that aren’t made of paper. Play background music through your home’s speakers to give the room a more festive feel. The little things in the party’s atmosphere will make the dinner gathering truly memorable.
3. Take Advantage of Meal Delivery
Hosting a dinner party doesn’t necessarily mean that the host needs to cook. Plenty of restaurants offer precooked meals to bring the quality dining of a restaurant right to the home. Restaurants can also work with a list of guest dietary restrictions to create meal options that suit the diets of each guest. To ensure a stress-free meal delivery on the night of the party, hosts should order food from their restaurant of choice at least a week in advance. Following up with the restaurant the day before the party is another measure to take in order to make certain that every component of the meal is on track for the dinner party.
4. Vary the Bar
When serving alcohol at a dinner party, be sure to provide nonalcoholic beverages for guests who do not drink. Festive nonalcoholic beverages include sparkling water, ginger ale, and iced tea. If a guest requests a nonalcoholic beverage, pour the drink into a glass to give the table a sense of unity.
5. Designate Space for Guests to Leave Belongings
When guests walk in the door, their first thought is, “Where should I put my purse?” or, “Where should I hang my coat?” Have a coat rack or closet handy and open for guests’ use during the party, and a spare chair or room for guests’ purses and other belongings to gather. Hosts who’d prefer for their guests to remove shoes for the length of the dinner gathering should denote a space for the shoes near the guests’ place of entry. A great way to accomplish this without saying a word is lining up a few pairs of the host’s own shoes near the front door in order to encourage guests to remove their shoes as well.
6. Consider Delivery
While this may seemed frowned upon, there are a lot of companies now that can delivery healthy, fresh meals that look and taste exactly like their homemade counterparts. Some of these companies, such as Fresh N Lean, focus in tiny niches such as vegan diets. This means there are very few dishes you couldn’t order fresh and ready.
7. Keep the Guest List Simple
When hosting a seated meal, keep the guest list free of clutter. Guests tend to enjoy smaller groups, and this cuts down on clean up at the end of the night as well. Be sure to consider seating arrangements, too, and take advantage of place cards in order to position the guests in a comfortable fashion.
8. Save the Dishes for the Morning
A hospitable host takes time with their guests during their dinner party. Time spent elbows-deep in a sudsy kitchen sink is valuable time spent away from one’s guests. After dinner, hosts should gather the dishes into the sink, put on a pot of coffee and tea, and serve dessert. Enjoying time with guests is the most crucial hack that amateur hosts often leave out. After all, isn’t that the point of hosting a dinner party?
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