One of my favourite things to do is host dinner parties. I love creating an environment that makes people feel special and taken care of.
But, let’s be real, hosting can be stressful! To eliminate (or rather, minimise!) the stress of hosting, I’ve put together some tips to make sure not only your guests enjoy themselves, but you actually do too.
1. Get your groceries online
This is the bessst decision you’ll make for a stress-free start to your dinner party!
I’d recommend doing this 2 days before the party, and picking it up the day before. That way, you’ve got time in between ordering your groceries and picking them up to remember anything you’ve forgotten!
2. Prep as much as you can
What you choose to serve your guests is really important. If you can choose something that’s easy to prepare in advance, and still looks and tastes impressive, then you’re onto something.
And bonus if you can make something that guests can serve themselves. Which leads me to my next tip …
3. Make food that’s easy to serve up
You don’t want to spend all night in the kitchen, balancing the cooking and serving.
You want to make sure all your guests get their food at the same time, and most importantly, that it’s hot!
You can do this by making a big dish of something and serve it up to all the guests, or put everything on the table and let your guests help themselves.
4. Do the dishes as you go
Maybe this is just me, but I can’t function in a messy kitchen. Even if everything with the food is under control, if my kitchen is messy, it makes me feel so stressed.
Clear kitchen = clear mind!
Plus, there’ll be less dishes to do in the late-night clean up. A win win!
5. Ask for help!
Like, actually say yes when people politely ask if there’s anything they can do. You don’t have to be the hosting hero and do everything yourself.
You don’t want your guests to do the dishes, but you could ask someone to be in charge of getting people drinks, or topping up food, or organising a game.
By doing all these things, I guarantee your hosting experience will be way less stressful.
All the best!
Rebecca x
127 eatery 