If you are hosting your own organic dinner party for the very first time, then you are in for a very interesting, fun-filled, and (possibly) stressful evening. Contrary to what most people think, hosting a dinner party is much harder than it looks—when when done properly, can have the most amazing results, leading to a memorable evening with new (or stronger) friendships.
Don’t feel anxious about how the evening is going to go—the way you host the dinner party is key to how successful (or unsuccessful) it’s going to turn out to be. To help you out, here are a few things to keep in mind.
dining table for dinner party
Prepare in Advance
The important thing is to make all your preparations in advance. Set a date well ahead of time and send out your invitations 2 weeks in advance, giving your guests time to RSVP and let you know whether or not they will be able to come. If, a week after sending your invitations, you find that there are still some people who haven’t gotten back to you, follow them up and get their final confirmation so that you get your total head count to determine the table seating needed.
Once you have confirmed how many guests you are expecting, then it is time to make sure you have all the necessary furniture pieces to accommodate them—these include dining tables, dining chairs, utensils, and more. Make sure that you have enough; if you don’t, you may have to make use of extra chairs or tables, borrow them from someone else, or buy new ones to add to your existing collection.
Next, you will have to prepare your food menu. If you’re planning to serve a variety of organic food options, you’ll need to make your menu in advance so that you can send them out to your guests, especially if they have to choose between two dishes so you know which ones to prepare for them. If it is a potluck party, coordinate with each other a week in advance so that there are no double dishes and people know what they should be bringing.
Be the Ideal Host on the Day
Most first-time dinner party hosts get rattled or stressed on the day of the dinner. The key is to just stay calm and be yourself—as nerves will show in your overall disposition as you greet your guests. If you are expecting important guests, make sure that you are ready to make small talk with them, even whilst you are busy.
Before the guests start arriving, make sure that everything is in place. Check stoves and ovens to see if any of them have been left on, and turn them off. We don’t want any accidents to happen because of nerves or carelessness.
Finally, remember to greet each guest with a smile. As you gather ’round the organic dining table, sit back, relax and enjoy an evening flowing with good food, good conversations, and good company. At the end of the day, it is really how you set the atmosphere for the evening that will determine how the rest of it will go.
