10 Indispensable Tips to Plan Your Perfect Dinner Party
1. A sufficient supply of china, silverware, napkins, serving dishes and platters, serving spoons, bakeware and cookware is essential. Create a mock dinner party setting several days in advance to see if you fall short of anything. Create the dinner party scene and that day since morning, in your mind, and note down any essentials that come across as lacking or missing.
2. If you are serving buffet style and have a large crowd, consider setting up two different complete tables starting with plates and cutlery and napkins so guests don’t line up at one spot and are divided between two serving tables. Dessert may be served on one separate single table or within these two food tables.
3. Prepare your menu several days in advance to allow time for improvisations. Make sure 2/3rd of the dishes planned are make-ahead. Practice each recipe at least twice before preparing it on the day of the dinner party.
4. Stock up your pantry in advance.
5. Start working on your menu 3-4 days before the party. Prepare make and bake ahead dishes. Marinate appropriate dishes one day in advance. Freeze dough several days ahead and bake treats a day before.
6. Hire help for serving out dishes so you are not reduced to a slave to your stove or microwave on the day of the party.
7. One vegetarian main dish and one diabetic-friendly dessert will cover the basic food concerns in your guests. If you are, however, aware of any other allergies or special dietary needs of your guests, it is your duty to take care of them.
8. Keep mulled apple juice simmering as guests enter. The spiced Christmas smells will provide a warm welcome to your guests. But if you choose to do this, make sure that you use either unscented or cinnamon scented candles or the fragrance of the candles will compete with the aroma of the mulled drink.
9. If side dishes and breads require baking, bake them a day before so that you can stat with the main dish on the day of your dinner party.
10. No matter how you plan your day, there should only be one way of spending the last one and half hour before the dinner party begins. Devote the first hour to yourself taking time to get dressed up. The last half hour should be devoted to last minute tasks like calmly taking a tour of your house to see if everything is in its place, turning on holiday music (peppy for cocktails and parties and soft for dinners), lighting the candles, dimming the bulbs etc.
