You know what it’s like. You want to give a dinner party, but you’re not entirely certain on how to go about having a gathering that everyone enjoys. There’s so much to consider, everything, from a gluten free snack for coeliac friends, to the music. You don’t want to leave out anything important that will cause your party to fail. 

We have a solution for you. Follow our handy tips to enable you to have a dinner engagement that will satisfy all your guests. 

Music

One thing to get right is the music. You may have a taste for grunge or heavy metal, but not all your friends are going to enjoy that. What’s more, for food to digest well, its best to have quieter, calmer music, such as light classical or lounge jazz in the background.

If you’d like more upbeat music for dancing later, that can always be added to the playlist at the time. Simply be aware of your neighbours, and be considerate about the amount of noise you’re creating. Unless of course they’re invited to the party, in which case you don’t have to fear complaints. 

Decorations

The ambience is all-important, and décor plays a vital role in creating that. It’s wise to keep to a specific theme and to maintain a pleasing colour scheme. That involves keeping items such as matching tone and hues, with triadic, complementary or split-complementary colour schemes in mind. 

Think of:

• Flowers
• Banners 
• Lighting and candles
• Table runners 
• Ornaments
• Place cards
• Napkins or serviettes
• Dinnerware
• Glassware
• Table mats and coasters
• Vases 
• Balloons
• Centrepieces

All these need to be in harmony with your theme’s colour scheme, and match your chosen style. For example: country, rustic, modern, Christmassy, or jazz lounge. 

Laying the Table

Depending on your theme, your dinner could be elegant and high class or informal. It’s always a lot of fun to dress up, so if you’re going to do a dinner party, it might be best to do the more formal dinner. If so, you would need to learn to lay the table correctly. Start organizing the table depending on the theme you choose from choosing the right tablecloth, candles, glasses, disposable plastic plates in different colors to match your dinner party and make cleaning easier, and decorated cutleries.

Bear in mind that most of your guests are unlikely to be familiar with the correct cutlery to choose, so you would need to guide them as you go through the different courses. Basically, the first course cutlery goes on the outside of the set, and it moves inward from there. 

Food

Add a few courses: starter, main and dessert. You could always add in cocktails to offer while you wait for people to arrive. Have various options available to cater for different diets. You could add some gluten free slices, or find some sugar-free chocolate. Lactose and egg intolerant people will thank you for ordering different food for them too. 

It’s a good idea to find out preferences and allergies when guests RSVP, so you won’t have to guess. However, if it’s an open invitation to your friends and network and you don’t know who will be coming, it would be good to cover every eventuality. 

Drinks

You want to be generous with the drinks. Alcohol and non-alcoholic drinks, along with sugar-free and gluten-free alternatives can all be included. Be sure to match wine with whatever meat you’re serving. For instance, white wine goes with white meat such as chicken and fish while red wine matches beef or lamb. 

Remember that many people enjoy a good coffee after the meal, with chocolates. 

Attire

For a dinner party, whatever your style and choice of food, it’s good to let your guests know in advance of the required attire. This puts them at ease, knowing they can dress to suit the occasion and it makes their preparations easier.

It can be formal or informal, or even themed, such as fancy-dress. It is always a lot of fun to be more formal. Just make sure you have good napkins to use during dinner, so your guests won’t spoil their clothes if they should drop a crumb or two in their laps. 

Staff

When you have a dinner party, you’ll find it a lot less stressful if you hire personnel to assist you both with cooking and with serving and washing up. Hire people with experience, because you want to maximise your chance of success. Besides which, if they wear uniform, it adds charm to the evening and helps to identify guests and staff. 

Besides, you want to be able to focus on your guests more, so get some help! 

Entertainment

There is always the question of entertainment—it’s good to have something prepared. Games are ideal, such as charades. You could also introduce dancing or watching a movie together. The best option depends on the group’s interests. 

Conclusion

A dinner party is an opportunity to build friendships and enjoy a great time. With a little planning and preparation, you can have an event that everyone will be talking about for a long time.