Dinner Party Planning-Dinner is Now Served

Your table for 10 is ready now Madam. Please follow me. Surely that sounds familiar? What about the seating for 10? This may not, but what you are planning may need to accommodate such a number. Dinner parties are normally smaller parties and easier to prepare for than most. This is not to say you can just go ahead and wing it. This would not be an ideal way to plan any party, even if it is of the smaller variety. To ensure your parties success follow the simple advice outlined below.

A great way to get started with your dinner party planning is to plan ahead. It makes little difference if you are planning for a party of four or a group of ten. Staying ahead will ensure you have everything in order for the night or day of the party. Consider your guest list early. Who are you going to invite and what are their eating habits? This should be a question you ask yourself. Do not be afraid to inquire because by asking ahead you will be eliminating any mistakes. A common mistake at dinner parties is when the host forgets to ask beforehand and ends up finding out the hard way that so and so is a vegetarian and so and so is allergic to seafood. Don’t make this mistake. Plan ahead, ask beforehand and eliminate a potentially embarrassing situation.

With your guest lists needs in mind, you can go ahead and plan your menu. This is the second most important aspect of your party. Why second do you ask? Well during your guest list planning did you make the proper invites? Will everyone get along? If not, reconsider the list. You don’t want an argument ruining your dinner party. With your revised guest list, make preparations for the menu. Do you know what you will be serving or are you still undecided? If undecided write out a list of different things you might like to prepare and ponder over them. What would fit the mood you are trying to convey? Is this a business or a family function? Are your guests younger or older? Do they prefer wine, cocktails or beer? These are all questions you can ask yourself. If you can think of more, do so, then make a decision in a day or so.

If you would rather buy out for a deluxe gourmet meal, your guests certainly wouldn’t complain. There is also no rule against ordering take out if your guests love Chinese, Indian, Japanese or some other famous take-out.  However, pizza might be over doing it.

Creating your meal should be done in advance, if possible. The reason for this is you want to have plenty of time to attend to your guests once they arrive. You don’t want to be running in and out of the kitchen an hour after the last person made their way through your front door. Of course, the main dish would probably require your attention, the other aspects of your meal should be in a state of readiness. This means they should be ready to go at a moment’s notice. The appetizers, the dessert and anything else you can prepare for in advance you should definitely have sitting in the refrigerator waiting their turn. This is good practice, by abiding by it, you will have more time for your guests. In turn, you will be fulfilling the number one rule of dinner parties and that is a good host makes for a great party. Enjoy your meal.

James Craven is a party planning expert with more than 20 years experience. For more great tips on dinner party planning dinner party planning, visit http://www.planningparty.net .

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