Entertaining guests is an excellent way to get together with your family and friends and spend time having fun. However, while having people over can be a lot of fun for your guests, when you are the host, it can be extremely hard work. If you often miss the most interesting conversations and many of the evening’s highlights because you are stuck in the kitchen, it is time to approach entertaining differently. Having people over for food and drinks should be enjoyable for your guests and yourself. Finding ways to make entertaining easier will help everyone to have a great time and allow you to enjoy the company of your guests. Here are some tips to help make entertaining easier:
Start Your Preparations Early
Carrying out as many preparations as possible the day before you entertain is an excellent way to keep your stress levels low and to make your life easier. Cleaning the house the day before, setting the table in advance, and cooking as much as you can ahead of the party will relieve lots of pressure and allow you to spend much more time having fun and less time in the kitchen.
Manage Your Guest List
The more people you invite to your home, the more you need to do. So it makes sense to keep your guest list short wherever possible. Having lots of guests means more work for you. There will be more meals to cook and more drinks to keep refilling throughout the evening. Inviting lots of guests also means you need to divide yourself among more people. Keeping your guest list under control means you have less to do, and the evening will be manageable and much more fun for you.
Keep Things Simple
Creating an elaborate meal with multiple courses means you are going to spend the majority of the evening in the kitchen rushing around to get the food cooked and plated up and ready to serve. However, you do not need to create a complicated menu to impress your guests. Instead, it is helpful to keep your menu simple and serve classic food that everyone loves. Making dishes such as crockpot ribs for the whole family will mean that you don’t need to cook separate meals for the kids, and everyone gets something tasty to eat.
As well as keeping your food choices simple, it is a good idea to do the same with your drink options. Rather than mixing up complicated cocktails with lots of ingredients, try and stick with drinks that are faster to prepare, as this will help save you time.
While everyone wants to be the perfect host, there is no need to put lots of pressure on yourself. Trying to make the evening perfect will prevent you from enjoying yourself and being present with your guests. So letting go of the idea of perfection and instead making the evening as fun as possible will ensure your guests have a good time, and you do too.
