Fall is here and that means the holidays will also be here before you know it. It’s always a good time to throw a dinner party, but it becomes a particularly great time to host a dinner party during the holiday season. I recently hosted my first ever dinner party so I’m sharing all of my knowledge and lessons through this dinner party hosting guide.

Preliminary planning

Before you get into the nitty-gritty of all the details that go into a dinner (or brunch/lunch) party, there are some basics that you need to think about.

• Choose the party size/guestlist. How intimate or large of a dinner party do you want to have? This may depend on your budget and venue (home vs. an event space.)
• Choose the theme. There does not have to be a theme but sometimes that makes it a little more fun and a lot easier to nail down decor and menu. Themes can range from pop culture references (e.g. breakfast at Tiffany’s), places and seasons (e.g., summer in Positano), holidays (e.g., Thanksgiving, Christmas, Galentine’s, etc.), or simply colors (e.g., pretty in pink.) Consider that some things may be easier and less expensive to execute than others so consider your budget when choosing the theme.
• Choose the date and send save the dates. Pick a day that works for you and your guests and your theme. As a bonus, send a save-the-date to your guests about four weeks ahead of the dinner. When you send those save the dates, ask for any dietary restrictions so you can select the menu and make accommodations accordingly.

4-6 weeks before

• Plan decor and place orders. If you will be handling decor yourself instead of enlisting the help of an event planner, it’s a good idea to budget plenty of time to plan decor so you can place orders for anything you don’t already have. If you’ll be renting tables and chairs, this is also a good time to place reservations for those as well. I do not have space in my apartment for a full-sized dining table so I rented from A1 Party rental. When planning the tablescape you may want to consider things like tablecloth, table runner, napkins, charger plates/placemats, plates, cutlery, cups and glasses, flowers, and candles. All of these things provide an opportunity to clearly convey your theme so every detail matters! I did not want to buy new plates so I worked the color scheme around my Our Place plates in “spice.” I used Canva to lay everything out and see how it would flow together before making purchases of items I didn’t have and placing the order for flowers.

• Set the menu and test it. There are three main options you have for sourcing the food for dinner parties: (1) cooking the food yourself (2) catering the food and (3) having guests bring food a la potluck style. Whichever of these three you decide to go with, you’ll have to set the menu based on theme, type of cuisine, taste, and dietary restrictions. A great way to set the menu if you are cooking is to use fruits and vegetables that are in season. For example, summer is a time when peaches are in season, and it’s currently tomato season so two of my starters had heirloom tomatoes in them. My rule of thumb though? Make sure you’re already familiar with making whatever you plan on serving. Unless you’re an expert chef, serving something you’ve never made before is risky. So choose dishes you’re comfortable making and if you want to make something new, practice making it beforehand so you can decide if you can make it well enough to serve to others.

1-3 weeks before 

• Send formal invites. If you’ve already sent a save the date it’s still a good idea to follow up with an invitation with time and venue details to remind your guests that you’re still looking forward to having them. You can send a simple text invitation or send something more formal like a Canva graphic or paperless post invite for a larger party where you want to track RSVPs.

The week before

• Make and go over a run of show. If you’re cooking anything, cross reference the recipes and your pantry to create a shopping list. Make a mental or physical note of what you will need to do the day before and the day of and how everything will flow on the day of. You can’t control everything but failing to plan is planning to fail, so have a plan for how you plan to set up, cook, and serve (e.g., what will you serve the dishes in? What pots will you use to make the dishes and will you have enough clean pots and bowls to cook everything or will you have to wash dishes as you go? What will you serve the food in and do you have enough serving utensils? How will you keep the food warm? etc.) That way you can make any last-minute orders and adjustments.
• Put together a playlist to set the vibe of the dinner party. Music is another great way to connect the dinner party back to the theme or cuisine. You can hand this off to a friend if you have one that would be particularly good at making a playlist or you can search one up that’s already made.
• Make menu and/or place cards. I didn’t do this but it’s always an elevated and thoughtful touch to add stationary like menus and place cards.

The day before

• Grocery shop. To ensure fresh ingredients, grocery shop as close to the dinner party as possible while also keeping in mind that you don’t want to give yourself too much to do on the day of the party. I placed delivery orders for items like non-produce items and pantry goods (sugar, beverages, butter, etc.) and went to the grocery store myself to shop for fresh fruits and veggies because I don’t like leaving produce shopping to delivery services (if you know you know.) Finally, on the morning of the dinner party, I shopped for seafood and bread to ensure the freshest options for those.
• Prep desserts. Desserts are usually good up to a few days before serving so to lighten the load of the cooking on the day of the dinner party, it would be helpful to start prepping desserts the night before. For example, I made mango sorbet the night before and kept it in my freezer. I also made creme brulee which has to set in the fridge overnight and on the morning of I made the dough from this chocolate chip cookie recipe which calls for the dough to sit in the fridge for a few hours before baking. All three of these desserts were done long before I started cooking which lightened the load on the day of.
• Set the table. If you have your table and chairs by this point or if you are using dining furniture you already own, you don’t need to wait until right before guests arrive to set the table. Do it the night before to reduce the to-do list on the day of the dinner party.

The day of

• Prepare the food. Keep in mind the priorities of keeping the food warm while also timing everything appropriately before guests’ arrival.
• Get yourself ready! Leave enough time to ensure you as the host can get cute and look the part of a hostess with the mostest!
• Enjoy your guests’ company and all your hard work! It can be hard to enjoy yourself as the host but sit down and relax and eat. If you’re like me and don’t eat much after you’ve worked so hard cooking, set aside your own food that you’d like to eat the next day.

And with all of this in mind, you are ready to host a dinner party for your loved ones! If you do decide to host one I’d love to hear how it goes! Leave a comment below or tag me in your recap on Instagram!

“You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.” Psalm 23:5 

#EniGivenSunday