How To Host A Dinner Party: The Ultimate Guide

With COVID-19 on the run due to vaccines, you’re probably itching to be social again. After all, it’s been two years, and we’re all ready to bust out. Maybe you’re not comfortable with a night out just yet, but long to see your friends.

There’s a solution: hosting a dinner party. But hosting a dinner party takes a lot of work, and you might not know where to begin. Don’t sweat it.

We’ll teach you how to host a dinner party that will have people looking forward to the next one. Below you’ll find a guide to ensure that your dinner with friends goes off without a hitch.

Create a Guest List

When hosting a dinner party, you first need to decide who you will invite to dinner. The guest list is essential for planning out how much food to buy. A list will help you determine what food is best for the dinner party.

If this is your first time hosting a dinner party, we recommend keeping it small. A small party helps you understand what goes into a dinner party and can prepare you to host larger ones.

Also, consider the day and time you wish to host the dinner. If all your friends are busy working during the week or have families, the weekend would likely be the best time to host a party.

Of course, if you’re unsure of the best day, you can always contact everyone to provide you with a day or two that they’d be available. And don’t forget to put an RSVP date on the invitation so guests know when the deadline is for letting you know if they’ll be able to attend the party or not.

Plan Out Your Menu

Now that you’ve created the guest list, it’s time to plan your menu. If you’re the one that’s going to be doing the cooking, you’ll want to give yourself enough time to push out each course without feeling rushed while also giving yourself time to mingle with your guests.

If you’re hiring a catering company for the dinner party, you must give input into the meal you want guests to have. Another thing to consider as you plan the menu is the budget you’ve allotted for food.

Do some research and determine what fruits and vegetables are in season to save yourself money while grocery shopping. It also helps if you use some of your pantry staples to create the meal for the evening.

Your budget should also allow you to buy drinks for guests throughout the night.

Create the Dinner Atmosphere

One thing that might be of equal importance outside of the food is the dinner party atmosphere. Typically, when planning a party, there is a theme your decor will follow.

If you’re unsure of the theme you want to go with, you can start by selecting your dinnerware. Barebones Living has enamelware that you can use to build the rest of your decor around.

If you’re going for a simple yet elegant feel for your dinner, enamelware is the best option for the dinner party.

Go Easy on Yourself

When planning a dinner with friends, it’s easy to become overwhelmed and feel like you need to do everything perfectly. You need to remember to go easy on yourself because whether you burn something or not shouldn’t be the determining factor of if your dinner goes well or not.

Even if you’ve forgotten something crucial, don’t allow it to push you over the edge. Instead, see if you have something else you can substitute for the missing item.

Prepare Yourself

Ahead of your dinner party, prepare for what’s to come. Prepare by creating a list of items you need from the grocery store and going to buy them.

It also means mentally preparing for the work that will go into cooking the foods you will provide at your dinner party. Some people aren’t aware of the work that goes into pulling off a dinner party, but it can suddenly feel impossible if you don’t prepare yourself.

When you prepare for any situation, you have a plan to help you check each task off your list as it comes. Not to mention it can help you better manage the stress of the night.

Have Fun

Now that you’ve got everything else ready for the party, the last thing on your list of things to do is to have fun. People will love the food you make, but they also want to interact with you throughout the night.

Socializing means taking some time outside of cooking to sit down and have conversations with your guests. They want to know and talk to you because you’re the reason they’ve come out to enjoy a night of food and time with close friends.

Having fun at a dinner party you host may get lost in the preparation, but don’t let it. Try to prepare as much of the meal in advance to ensure you’ll have time to spend with your guests.