Every great
dinner party, family get together, or stay-at-home celebration owes its success
to carefully considered plans and thoughtful hosts. With more people now opting
to entertain at home, close friends and family have become the sought-after
1950s socialites that were waited on, catered for and endlessly entertained.
But the year is 2020, and sheer opulence isn’t all that’s on the menu.
Catering
for the many tastes of our guests is still the main course, but our modern
ingredients are working smarter, not harder. Etiquette and order have made way
for comfort and contentment. The allure of a three-course meal with aperitifs
is fading, as sharing platters, potluck and DIY drinks have brought with them a
‘feast not fuss’ attitude that’s keeping both guests and hosts happy.
To help you
uncover the joy in party preparations and entertain with confidence on your big
night, we’ve created this comprehensive party planning guide with answers to the
most common questions on home entertainment and how to do it right.
For ease,
we’ve organised these bestkept secrets into the three cornerstones of any
memorable celebration: Planning, On The Night and Food & Drink, so that you
can quickly find the solution to your party planning problem.
The key to a memorable party and satisfied guests is all in the planning. To ensure the occasion exceeds expectations, start by organising the basic elements before incorporating the bells and whistles.
Starting with a very simple checklist ensures that you cover all bases, and, as you complete tasks, allows you to track your progress in the lead up to the big night.
Any great party plan should start with the same concepts, whether you’re hosting a relaxed dinner party with family or an engagement party for your closest friends. The cornerstones to party planning are:
It's up to you to get creative with the rest.
With so many points to think about and consider when planning a dinner party, creating a checklist is the best way to ensure that the evening runs smoothly and provides your guests with a memorable experience
There’s always the concern that you might forget something crucial for your party, so don’t be afraid to add even the smallest details to your party planning checklist. The most forgotten dinner party necessities include ice, candles, extra toilet paper and garbage bags, bottle opener, fire starters (if a BBQ is involved in your meal), bar garnishes (lemon, lime and olives), salt and pepper, and candles.
One of the most exciting things about party planning is the guest list. Once you have worked out what sort of dinner party you’ll be having - for example, a casual get together or a formal, grand affair - you will have a much better idea of who will receive that special invite.
Close friends and relatives are generally the first names you should add to your list, as these are the easiest to pick. Be aware that many people expect to bring their partner to a dinner party, so be prepared for plus ones on your guest list. After this, you should consider acquaintances you’d like to get to know better, colleagues, important corporate guests and extended family. You can also create a ‘waiting list’ of people you’d like to invite if your original guests can’t make it.
Whoever you decide to invite, be sure you have enough space and seating for all of them to comfortably move around and mingle, as well as space at the table to eat.
For a casual dinner party, place prepared appetizers on the table and encourage guests to help themselves whilst they wait for the main event. Platters and sharing boards have become extremely popular ways to entertain in recent years, featuring long, sprawling boards topped with antipasti, dips, breads and meats which guests plate up for themselves.
Table decorations such as themed napkins and fresh flowers will produce a light mood, whilst ambient music or an eclectic dinner playlist will encourage guests to relax.
A more formal occasion is where you should pull out all the stops. The first step to success is to lay out your best tablecloth, crystal glassware, plates and cutlery, incorporating details like candles, creative centrepieces, place cards and folded napkins to deliver new heights of sophistication. Keep the music mellow or classical and the lights dimmed for a romantic ambience.
Tip: Hiring
someone to serve your guests from a set menu will create a memorable experience
they won’t forget.
A good general rule of thumb is to set the start time between 7 and 8pm, giving guests a chance to go home and change, while still making sure your party is not too late for senior visitors or those with young children. It’s a good idea to take a general survey from your guests if you can on which start time suits them best, or what time they are most likely to arrive.
Similarly,
it’s not unusual for dinner parties to kick the curfew and last much longer
than the average time. You might find that after most of your guests have gone
home that you’re sharing some time with just one or two, which is a great time
to engage in deeper conversations or to catch up with each other on a personal
level. A dinner party held on the weekend means your guests might enjoy
carrying on into the small hours without having to worry about work or early
responsibilities the next day.
GREET WITH
A SMILE
Show your
guests that they are welcome and that you’re happy to see them. Offer to take
coats and jackets and enquire whether your welcome guests would like a drink -
make sure that you’ve got a varied selection.
INTRODUCE UNFAMILIAR FACES
No matter
what, you should always introduce your guests to unfamiliar faces at the party.
This will avoid any awkward introductions and demonstrates fantastic hosting
skills. A great way to introduce guests to each other is to share their names
and then share one interesting fact about each person to get the conversation
flowing. For example, “Dana, this is Greg - Greg works in finance and loves to
go mountain biking on the weekends. Greg, this is Dana - Dana knows Geoffrey
and Judy, and their children do horse riding lessons together. Would you both like a drink?”
HEAT YOUR HOME
Although
sometimes forgotten, the importance of ensuring your home is at an ample
temperature cannot be understated. If you’re planning dinner parties during the
colder months make sure that you heat your home throughout the day, turning off
just 30 minutes before your guests arrive. The warmth will make your home more
welcoming and your guests more relaxed.
Adding
small touches such as these shows appreciation for your guests as they get to
know new friends, and offers a conversation starter for quieter visitors. Plan
out your seating arrangements in advance and have a good think about which
friends or colleagues you think would get along.
Good
conversation is a skill, and when mastered it can transform first-time hosts
into the life of a party. Having a broad knowledge of current events, fun facts
and pop culture is the best way to ensure you’ve always got something to
discuss should the table go quiet. A skilled conversationalist will be able to
read the room and adjust the topic accordingly, and as a general rule, it’s
always best to avoid topics that could divide your guests (such as politics or
religion).
Being able
to start a conversation allows your guests to jump in with their own anecdotes,
experiences and opinions, which will organically lead into other topics and
tales.
Having a
prepared list of conversation starters will make it much easier for you to
engage with your guests and get them conversing. People famously love to talk
about themselves, so when in doubt don’t be afraid to ask personal questions.
Or better yet, engage them with a compliment. A genuine and well-placed
compliment on someone’s dress or hairstyle, or a strong handshake never goes
astray and opens up the conversation immediately.
Be sure you
aren’t asking closed-ended questions, as those that can be answered with a
‘yes’ or a ‘no’ are the antithesis to engaging conversation. These sorts of
questions might be, “Did you have a safe trip here?” or “Are you enjoying
dinner?” More effective questions to ask are those which are open ended, such
as “What was the last good book you read?” or “Which podcasts have you been
enjoying lately?” These encourage a longer response which gives your guests a
chance to become more confident and open up.
Board games
are a classic favourite to enjoy during downtime, but at a dinner party with
more willing participants, they make for fantastic ice breakers as well as a
quirky main event. With so many options for board games, you will have no
trouble finding something that everyone can enjoy.
Classic
board games such as Monopoly, MahJong, Scrabble, Trivial Pursuit and Cluedo add
an extra touch of nostalgia to your dinner party. If you’re looking for
something a little more modern, then Celebrity Heads and Taboo are bound to
keep guests entertained.
If you and
your guests have known each other for a long time, you’re bound to have years
of photographs and videos to reminisce together with. If you’ve got the time,
you could even create a special slide show and play it on the big screen for
everyone to enjoy at once.
For guests
who are unfamiliar with each other, taking a trip down memory lane is a fun way
to engage them in conversation.
If many of
your guests are new friends, it’s the perfect time to start making new memories
together. Taking photos and videos at the party will add to or even start a new
memory lane, so be sure to get everyone together for a few friendly snaps so
you can remember the evening in years to come.
Ice
breakers are designed to relax guests and encourage them to get to know one
another, as well as provide an opportunity to have fun and let loose. Some
guests may be uncomfortable at first, especially around unfamiliar faces, but
ice breakers give them a chance to open up and relax.
Games like
‘Human Bingo’ in which you organise a grid with items like ‘speaks more than
one language’ or ‘owns a yacht’ will show that your guests might have more in
common than they first thought. Another simple ice breaker is to hand out slips
of paper with years written on them, and have your guests share with everyone
what they were doing in that year.
One of the
most important points on any dinner party host’s checklist is what food and
drink you are going to serve. This will depend on many factors such as the time
of year, what foods are in season, your guests’ tastes, and whether you are
having a casual or formal event. If you’re a foodie and love to cook, this is
your time to shine and show off your culinary prowess for your guests’
enjoyment. Pick your favourite meal, but don’t forget that love is the secret
ingredient.
Be sure to
check with your guests beforehand of any dietary requirements. It’s also a good
idea to prepare more food than you think you might need so that your guests can
enjoy a second helping.
When the
day arrives, prepare to be busy with preparations and final checks. So busy in
fact that you’re going to need to be a step ahead. The best way to do this is
to prepare your food in advance. Preparing your food the day before and either
refrigerating or freezing it will ensure that your whole day is free to take
care of the other matters that come with hosting a dinner party.
If you
can’t prepare the meals ahead of time, try to prepare as much as you can by
pre-peeling vegetables or arranging your cooking instruments so you’re ready to
cook when the time comes.
You can
also prepare appetizers to keep the hunger of early guests’ at bay, and put
dinner in the oven once more guests start to arrive. This works well for foods
like casseroles or bakes that you can pop in and put on a timer.
The
importance of what you serve your guests for their main meal cannot be
understated. The meal should complement your choice of atmosphere, be plentiful
enough to satisfy your guests’ appetite, yet light enough to leave room for
dessert.
It’s good
to be aware ahead of time of your guests’ drink preferences, which can be just
as important as any dietary considerations they may have. Some of your guests
may not drink alcohol, and there’s nothing worse than turning up somewhere
without another option.
Make sure
you have a range of drinks on offer for your guests, such as both flat and
sparkling water, juices, soft drinks (pay particular attention to providing at
least one diet option as well), teas and coffees. If you’re serving cocktails
make sure there is also a mocktail option, so that sober guests can join in the
experience of a delicious fruity beverage.
A good wine
and food pairing will certainly be appreciated amongst your guests, but you
don’t have to be a wine connoisseur to make an impressive selection.
The wine
should always be more acidic than the food but sweeter and with the same
flavour intensity. Red wines pair best with bold flavoured foods or fattier
foods like red meat, whilst white wines pair better with lighter meals like
fish and chicken.
Consider a dessert wine to serve after the meal, and always buy an extra bottle than what you think you’ll need - you never know how long your dinner party may last.
Cocktails
are a fantastic choice for dinner parties, as there are thousands of creations
you can choose from that suit any and all preferences. Having a well-stocked
bar is a great starting point for dinner party cocktails as you can whip up a
range of drinks depending on your guests’ requests.
Whether
your guests have a penchant for a moody Dark and Stormy, a sophisticated Dry
Martini or a classic Gin & Tonic, you’ll be able to add an extra shot of
luxury to your party by providing elevated options.
An aperitif
is a light drink consumed before a meal for stimulate the appetite, and a
digestif is a drink served after a meal to cleanse the palate and encourage a
new chapter of the evening to begin. Aperitifs and digestifs are brilliant
additions to elevate your dinner party, as not only do you get to show off more
of your cocktail-making skills, but they also serve well to segment the
different portions of the evening.
Common
examples of aperitifs are still, dry, light white wine, dry sherry, Vermouth,
champagne and gin. Common digestifs for after dinner include brandy, Madeira,
bitter or sweet liqueurs like Kahlua and Jaegermeister, limoncello and ouzo or
tequila.
Dinner
parties are a fantastic way to show off your style, culinary prowess and
hosting abilities whilst enjoying the company of your guests all at once.
Whilst there seems like a lot to do to throw an opulent, sophisticated dinner
party, with some careful planning your night will be a memorable, lasting
experience for your guests.
By now,
you’re more than prepared to host your own dinner party; so it’s time to set a
date and start working on those all-important checklists. And finally, don’t
forget that the most important part of any dinner party is creating new
memories and enjoying the company of close friends and family, so remember to
relax and enjoy the evening as it unfolds.
A toast to the host. You've earned it.
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