Dinner parties are one of the most common parties, but sometimes they are the hardest for which to dream up great ideas. Begin by setting a budget. Your budget will help you determine how extravagant you can be when creating your theme. Remember that you should factor in all costs including the food, beverages and even entertainment when you draw up your dinner party budget. You should choose a theme based on food you are comfortable cooking. If you’ve never made Ethiopian food before, that genre is probably not the best place to start for your first dinner party.
Now you can start by deciding how many guests to invite, who to invite and sending invitations. The number of people you can comfortably entertain depends on the size of your home, particularly your dining room table. Dinner parties are meant to be intimate and cozy, but if your place is so small that everyone can’t sit at the same table, that’s a problem. Try to invite people with the same interests so that there will be a good flow of conversation. You can also opt for evite’s if it is a informal get together. In addition to the basic who, where, and when, you will want to tell your guests what you’re eating and how you’re eating, so they’ll dress in a way that makes them feel comfortable.
The menu is obviously the most important part of the dinner party. Plan ahead! Set a budget and stick to it, but splurging on some fine ingredients can really make a difference. As you pick your dinner party recipes, find out if your guests have any food allergies or restrictions, and serve plenty of sides to give your guests options. If you are making a new recipe, you may want to make it a week before as a test.
Try to plan as many make-ahead dishes as your can. Keep the number of recipes that involve last-minute preparation to a minimum unless you have lots of help getting everything on the table. Keep the meal manageable and within your comfort level. Food should not sit at room temperature for more than two hours. Keep track of how long the foods have been sitting on the table and discard anything after two hours. For a more casual party, use a potluck style. With your main course, include a salad and a side dish or vegetable and bread if necessary. Include a simple dessert that you can make in advance.
Decorating should be simple, but you should still set a budget and plan ahead of time. The color and pattern of your tablecloth and other linens you might be using can also suggest your theme. Creating an atmosphere that complements your dinner party meal will make the food you serve taste even better, so try to buy or make decorations that match the menu:
• An elegant party requires silver candlesticks and vases of fresh flowers.
• If you’re serving something messy, go old-school classy with individual finger bowls. Just fill small bowls with water and a slice of lemon, and place one next to each guest’s water glass to use during the meal.
• Serving Chinese food? Hang Chinese lanterns above the table.
• Offering a Mexican feast? Drape chili-pepper lights around the doorways of your dining area, and serve your guacamole and salsa in bowls shaped like sombreros.
• A Moroccan meal means you can banish tables and chairs — and utensils — and eat on blankets and pillows right on the floor.
As for activities, get everybody talking by having guests go around the table and reveal something about themselves: a childhood nickname, their favorite song, their biggest celebrity crush.
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