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Tips on how to host a delightful dinner party


Dinner party

Hosting a dinner party can be fun and just a little daunting at the same time. This should be your moment to shine, when you can showcase your home, not to mention your catering and entertainment skills, plus it’s a great opportunity to get to know your chosen guests on a more personal level. There’s so much to look forward to, but also plenty to prepare and plan beforehand!

Hopefully, these tips will help you to take the stress out of planning a dinner party so that you can enjoy the evening (along with your guests), as well as be the perfect, delightful host.

 

Prepare ahead of time

Always make sure that you have checked with your guests ahead of time to see if they have any food intolerances or special requirements. There is nothing worse than serving up a beautiful dish that you have slaved over, only to realise that it may contain an ingredient that could cause an allergic reaction, or that contains something that is particularly disliked by a guest or three. On the day, set the dining table well in advance, and do add unscented candles to the settings to create ambience.

 

Practice

Once you have decided what to serve, try making the meal for your family before you have your guests around. Do this a week or so ahead of the dinner party, partly so that any mistakes you make will be forgiven by family members way before the actual day. A trial run will also allow you to practice the timings of the meal and the different courses, plus give you a chance to hone the necessary culinary skills.

 

Keep it simple

A dinner party is not the time to try all those new recipes you’ve been eyeing up on Pinterest. Keep things simple by serving up dishes that you have made in the past, and more importantly, that complement each other. You do not want to be the host that is rarely seen because you are constantly in the kitchen.

Serve up appetisers that go well with pre-prepared sauces and dips, like the ones in the Red Kellys Tasmania range, for example. You’ll also want to make the starters and desserts in advance, so choose something that you can prep a day earlier, such as a fresh fruit salad (which you can serve with a raspberry sauce) or homemade ice cream (which you can serve with chocolate sauce).

For salad, Red Kellys Tasmania’s bottles of salad dressing look so good that all you have to do is lay out large bowls of salad with the bottles alongside, and your guests will be more than happy to help themselves.

 

Get your house in order

The day before the dinner party, don’t forget to tidy up your dining area, living room and lounge, and do check that the washroom is clean and that you have a guest towel, soap and toilet paper ready for your guests.

On the day, if you have family pets such as dogs or cats, remember that not everyone is as keen on animals as you are, so it might be a good idea to make sure that any pet hairs have been vacuumed up, and that your pets are kept out of the dining area when your guests arrive.

Once you’ve made sure that everything is done, and your meal is prepped, cooking or ready to go, light the candles, put on some good music, pour yourself a drink and you’ll be all ready to welcome your guests. Enjoy!


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