The guest list
The more people on your guest list the more stressful the event is going to be. You will find yourself searching around for enough seating for everyone, enough clean cutlery, and ensuring you have enough food to feed everyone. What is more, you will have more people to keep entertained, satisfied and to try your food. Do yourself a favor and keep the guest list as small as you can. Attempt to keep it to a number that can comfortably sit around your table - you want to ensure everyone is comfortable after all. Also smaller numbers make it easier for people to hold conversations and communicate with all members of the party.
Dietary requirements
Now that you have pinned down your guest list be sure to enquire as to any dietary requirements well in advance. The last thing you need is an eleventh-hour panic because you suddenly find out your guest suffers from celiac disease and you are serving up a pasta dish.
Simple recipes
While it can be tempting to dazzle your guests with show-stopping recipes this does not have to be the case. You can prepare wonderful, home-cooked tasty food to serve at your dinner party without needing to rival the pizazz of a Michelin Star restaurant. A great tip when hosting a dinner party is to serve meals that can be cooked in advance and that will leave you with more time to entertain your guests. This will also help keep the pressure off getting all of your timings just right. Meals that can be cooked in the slow cooker are a great example of this as the majority of the prep and hard work is done before your guests even arrive. Meals such as curries or this jambalaya recipe make for great dinner party food with minimal stress.
Another useful tip is to stick to what you know. Avoid cooking recipes for the first time as this is only likely to add to your stress. Either have a trial run to ensure you know what you are doing and are happy with the outcome or cook meals that you have tried and tested plenty of times before.
Set the table in advance
As a host, you want to be able to spend as much time with your guests as possible to allow them to feel comfortable and entertained in your home. If you are frantically dashing in and out of the kitchen tending to the food or laying the table it is eating into the time you can spend hosting your guests. Preparing the food in advance is not the only dinner party prep you can undertake to make the experience easier on yourself. Whether you are hosting a formal or more casual dinner party it is always a great idea to set your table in advance of your guests’ arrival. You can ensure your table is looking exactly how you want it and that everything is in the right place. It will also be one less thing to worry about on the night.
Clean as you go
There is nothing worse than walking into your kitchen to see a never-ending pile of dishes, pots, and pans to be washed and put away. To lighten the load attempt to clean and wash up as you go. If you have finished with a pan then wash it, make sure you put anything you no longer need away, and don’t be afraid to do multiple loads in the dishwasher, especially if it means your surfaces are clear and the washing up is reduced.
Enjoy yourself
Enjoying a dinner party is about more than eating a nice meal. Guests at a dinner party want to enjoy the whole experience and the food only makes up a small percentage of that experience. If you are stressed then this will only reflect on your guests and their overall experience of the night. Try to stay calm, enjoy yourself and the company of your guests. If something goes wrong then it is not the end of the world, don’t let it get to you or bring your night down.
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