Impress Your Dinner Guests with These Simple Tips

Impress Your Dinner Guests with These Simple Tips

Whether it’s your first or hundred and first dinner party, it can be stressful from beginning to end. From the planning stages of knowing what to cook and who to invite to the actual day of the event, the responsibilities of a host are ongoing. It’s only natural that you’d be a tad bit stressed out with trying to impress everyone. However, what you may not know is that impressing your guests is not in the extravagant grand gestures, but in the simplicities.

Little Things Mean a Lot

It’s the little things that make the biggest impressions. Your guests may not pay attention to the fact that you’re serving them wine in the now famous (thanks to Kerry Washington and Scandal) Crate & Barrel wine glasses. However, they will certainly take notice of a host that pays attention to the little details like the types of ice.

you chose for drinks to keep them colder for longer. So before you turn your hairs gray and your budget upside down, let’s check out some savvy ways to make your guests feel at home during your next dinner party.

1.  Create an Inviting Environment

Your guests want to be entertained in a space that makes them feel at ease and comfortable. The problem is that many times, hosts will pull out their finest china, the best linens, and fixate on everything being in order. This leaves guests feeling uneasy about being in the space. They feel uncomfortable as if they’re not meant to touch anything.

Instead, you should create a space that is warm and inviting. For instance, putting a mini bar in a location where guests can get their own drinks without feeling like they have to bug you in the kitchen. Instead of your finest expensive china, stick to your regular kitchenware or even go for some nice paper or plastic products. Unless you’re hosting the rich and famous, chances are they’re not going to cringe because you have disposable dishes.

2.  Personalize It

Your dinner party is supposed to be all about your guests. So if you planned on going through old footage of yourself or your children when they were younger… save it for another day. Instead, try to find ways to make the night personal and fun for your guests. Serve signature cocktails that you know they appreciate, throw on some nice music that they enjoy, or even make a theme out of the event that is complete with games and other activities that you know your guests will enjoy.

3.  Let Your Hair Down

Hosts are always so busy running around pleasing everyone else that they don’t get the time to actually enjoy themselves – or their guests. Once everything is out on the table for everyone to enjoy, let your hair down and really mingle with your guests. After all, they came to your home to spend time with you. So take some time out of your busy day to just have a conversation and a few laughs with your guests. They will really appreciate that – and so will you.

Planning a dinner party is already stressful enough, why make the actual event harder than it has to be? Many times hosts go above and beyond hoping to impress their guests, when in all actuality, the simplicities are enough. By creating a friendly environment, personalizing it, and enjoying your company, you are sure to make a positive impression on your guests.