Dos and Don’ts of Entertaining

Throwing a party can be so fun if you plan way in advance. If you don’t do that it can be so overwhelming and a total nightmare.  The key is to be organized and to handle the details in stages.  I love having a party planning Notebook for my go to info. I will share mine with you in a couple posts from now so you can see how I organize all my information.  That way I  have easy access to all the info I need in one place.  There are so many things that need to be done for a party, but these are my givens. Here are some standard dos and don’t guidelines that I hold firm for each party I throw.

DOS

Iron all your linens ahead of time.

Bring the hostess a gift.

Have food ready to go as the first guests arrive.

Try to have it catered so you can mingle with guests.

Hors d’oeuvres need to be bite sized and easy to handle.

Pay attention to all the small details. They make a difference.

Think about different food options for various foodies (clean eaters, vegans etc…)

Try to have a bartender if you’re serving alcoholic beverages.

keep all your contacts in a party NB so you will be able to skip the middle man when hiring
vendors.

DON’TS

Don’t serve a recipe for the first time at a party where you’re entertaining guests.

Don’t start preparing the day of the party.  Start way in advance.

Don’t run out of food, ice, plates, or silverware.

Don’t talk to one guest for too long. Try to mingle with all guests so everyone feels special.

Don’t use plastic if possible.  The real thing is so much more elegant.

Don’t put all the food in one area.  It makes getting to food very difficult and people hate long lines.

Don’t try to see the party vision in your mind.  Set up the table designs ahead of time. Then take a picture and the set up on the party day will go super quick. You won’t have a thing to worry about when it gets crazy (and it will) the day of the party.

I hope these entertaining party tips were helpful.  I personally love having parties and entertaining at our home.  Some people don’t and that’s fine too.  If you do enjoy it, start out small. As you learn the tricks of the trade you can get bigger and bigger with your guest list and your budget.

Yours Truly,

Jenn