You've been to a great dinner party before. The food was delicious, the wine flowed endlessly, the sparkling conversation never stopped, and the host was relaxed and gracious. You've probably also been to a disastrous dinner
party, complete with food fights, drunken brawls, and a main course of burned popcorn. Now it's your turn. Luckily, throwing a great dinner party doesn't require any time in Martha Stewart boot camp. All you need is some smart planning and a little know−how.
Before you launch into menu mode, take a few moments to think about the purpose of your dinner party. Do you have to wow your scrutinizing, potential in−laws, or are you just trying to have a few interesting people over for an enjoyable evening?
The basic rule is, the simpler, the better. In general, people don't go to dinner parties expecting live entertainment and flaming desserts. The goal is a relaxing evening with good food and conversation.
Invite your guests
The most important ingredient for any party is a well−balanced guest list.
While it's not necessary for all your guests to know each other in advance
(in fact, one of the elements of the party can be meeting new people), you do want to ensure compatibility. For example, if you invite your delightful but tea-totalling neighbor, he might feel a little alienated if everyone else
in the room is guzzling beer.
It's also important to limit the size of your list. The last thing you want to do is spend your evening tossing spaghetti for 25 people, especially when they came to spend an evening with you. Six to eight (including yourself) is an excellent number for most situations. If you choose to go larger, make sure you have enough room at the table for everyone.
Invite your guests at least a week ahead of time. They'll appreciate that you took their schedules into consideration. If the party is small, it's fine to invite over the phone, but for a larger party, written or emailed
invitations add an official touch. Some of your guests will invariably ask if they can bring something. If you let them, they'll feel useful, but limit the gift giving to wine, bread, or dessert. If they bring wine, it's
appropriate to open it immediately and offer them some.
Prepare the food and surroundings
Your guests are not expecting five−star cooking, so stick with something you know. They'll be much more impressed with a large, tasty serving of chicken and pasta than with burned crepes and runny souffles. Some great dinner party choices include pasta dishes, lasagna, or stir−fry. Or why not fire up the grill and prepare a variety of fish, chicken, and vegetables? Find out ahead of time what the dietary restrictions of your guests may be, such as
vegetarianism or any allergies.
When you're planning your dinner, make a list of what you'll need for all of the courses. Be sure to consider cocktails, wine, non−alcoholic beverages, appetizers, salad, the entree, dessert, and coffee.
Buy your groceries the day before so you won't be in a rush, (besides, some recipes will call for ingredients from more than one store). Dishes you can prepare ahead of time are always great choices, because they give you more
time on the night of your party. Either way, try to have as much cooking done (or well underway) as you can before the party begins. This way, your guests won't have to wait 2 or 3 hours for dinner, and you won't have to spend all night in the kitchen.
When the guests arrive, take their coats and bags, and offer them a drink right away. Have the table set (now's the time to use those cloth napkins Mom gave you), music playing in the background, and appetizers set out.
Fresh flowers and hand−written place cards are two simple flourishes that add a touch of class.
Relax and entertain
The best thing you can do for your party now is to have a good time. You'll need to make sure everyone has enough food and drink, but most of the work is behind you. Now it's time to concentrate on your guests and enjoy yourself.
Make sure everyone's comfortable by introducing them in more detail than just names, and that everyone's involved in a conversation. If your guests are really unfamiliar with each other, try warming them up with a simple game or activity.
Games are a great idea for after dinner, too. Drawing games, trivia, and card games give guests an activity to focus on while getting to know each other. Another idea is to come up with a theme for the entire evening, like
a Hawaiian luau with flower leis and tropical drinks, an Italian feast with a red checked tablecloth and crooning music, or a murder mystery party, where guests are given clues to a mock "murder" and have to guess the culprit.
However elaborate you decide to be, make sure your main focus is on the guests.
Finally, there's nothing quite as disconcerting as sitting at a pleasant dinner table after a good meal and having the host jump up, clear the plates, and head to the kitchen to do the dishes. You might as well put up a neon sign that says, "GET OUT."
Let your guests linger for a while, and if you think it's time for them to go, offer to call them taxis, ask about their plans for the rest of the evening, or just tactfully tell them you're exhausted. When they're gone, put your feet up, nibble on a bit of extra dessert, and congratulate
yourself on a job well done.
