Dinner parties are one of the best ways to spend quality time with your family and friends. You can catch up and learn about what going on in each other’s lives over a delicious dinner and an alcoholic beverage.
While dinner parties are fun and exciting for everybody involved, they take a lot of preparation. Whether you’re inviting just a few of your closest friends or you’ve got every member of the family coming around, you need to plan every stage of the evening.
As the host of the party, it’s your responsibility to ensure the night runs smoothly. You’re in charge of cooking and serving food that caters to everybody’s needs, and keeping your guests happy and entertaining throughout the party.
Because there are so many different aspects of a dinner party, it can quickly get overwhelming. To help you plan the perfect dinner party without getting too stressed, we’ve put together a simple step-by-step guide for you to follow.
Create a Guest List
The very first thing when you want to throw a dinner party for your friends and family is deciding which guests you’d like to invite. As tempting as it is to invite every single person you know, more isn’t always better.
Consider the size of your home and your capacity to cook for several people. Make sure that all of the guests that you invite will get along so that you won’t have any unwanted disagreements over dinner.
Invite Your Guests
Once you have finalized your guest list, arrange a list with all of their contact details. Spend some time giving each person a ring or sending them a message to invite them to your dinner party.
The alternative option is to send out physical invitations to each of your guests. While the former option is easier and quicker in the tech-focused 21st century, sending out handwritten invitations adds a touch of authenticity and makes the invites more personal.
If you are sending out paper invitations, consider using recycled or eco-friendly paper to reduce the impacts on the environment.
Include as much detail as you can in your digital or physical invitations as possible. Add any necessary information about the party itself (such as a theme or dress code), your address, and the date and time of the event.
You can also include a little information about why you’re hosting the dinner party. Maybe you have exciting news to share or you want to bring the whole family together after years of being apart. Adding the ‘why’ behind your dinner party makes it more personal and special.
Choose a Date and Time
The next thing to decide is the day and time of the event. Try to find a date that works for all of your guests by asking around to see what people suggest.
Organize the date and time of your party as far in advance as possible to give everybody enough time to plan ahead and keep their schedules clear. Leaving it to the last minute could result in a poor turnout to your event because your guests have already made plans.
Also, plan how to keep the group entertained. Will you be doing some karaoke? How about a round of charades? Possibly try a puzzle or two? With a couple options available, it’s bound to be a fun time!
Finalize the Menu
When creating the menu for your dinner party, it’s important to cater to all of your guest’s needs and preferences. Ask around to see if any of your invitees have dietary restrictions or food allergies so you can adjust your menu to suit their needs.
Once you have gathered information about dietary preferences and allergies, think of some delicious meals that are within your culinary abilities. Take a look online at a range of recipes to find the most suitable options and save them to your computer or bring them out.
If possible, offer a few different options for each course of the meal. Make sure there is a starter, main, and dessert for those who don’t eat meat. Even the non-vegetarian guests at the dinner party might enjoy a plant-based meal!
For the main courses, you might want to offer rib-eye steak or goat’s cheese tarts. You could find a a cookie dough recipe and an apple compote recipe to make one sweet and one savory dessert.
There are so many great recipes that you can use to offer variety to your guests. Catering to everybody’s needs will ensure your friends and family members have an enjoyable time at your party and go home with full stomachs.
