Okay so this is the final installment of our 'Rules for Entertaining' piece. You can see part one here and part two here. These are just a few rules/tips that we have learned over the years and hope they can help others. Let us know what tips you would give.
Number 7 – Be able to greet your guests.
Ensure that
when your guests are due to arrive that you are able to greet them at the door
and offer a drink. If you are hosting with someone else then they may be able
to take this burden off you – but it’s a bit of a disaster when you both are
still doing things in the kitchen and cannot entertain your guests. We had an
incident at Christmas where I pulled something in my back 6 hours before our
guests were arriving – and therefore slowed the preparation speed of the day
(we should have prepped more the night before) – and as our guests arrived I
was still trying to clean the counters from the mess we had made in our rush.
The OH was trying to shower and change and I was left to offer drinks and
entertain while simultaneously trying to hide large trays in the dishwasher!
Number 8 – Know your guests.
When I entertain
my friends, I always ask them to confirm I have the allergy listing correct.
Within our group of eight there are allergies to nuts, wheat & gluten. After
allergies comes preferences - one hates fish, another hates meringue and half
the group hates mayonnaise. There was also someone attending who was pregnant
so I had to take that into account also. It can be difficult to figure out a
menu that caters for all, but it’s a lot better than poisoning
someone or having a guest sitting at the table with an empty plate as they are
unable to eat the items on the table.
For the
most recent party I made chocolate brownies. They were of course both nut and
gluten free; but it was difficult to find a recipe that catered for both. I
ended up adapting a nut free recipe and using gluten free flour. It took a bit
of time but I was happy that all my guests were able to tuck into dessert
instead of me having to say “sorry you can’t eat that”.
Number 9 – Give a time.
If you plan
on serving a sit down dinner and are timing it to be ready at 8pm, then tell
your guests to arrive at 7.30pm. You know people will not be bang on time, so
this allows for the late-comers to arrive. It’s also of benefit to tell an
exact time (i.e. ‘come at 7.30pm’) and not a wishy-washy time such as ‘ah
anytime around 7 or 8 will be grand’. This allows people to know when they
should be there, instead of half the guests arriving at 7.10pm and the other half
not arriving until 8.30pm. The first half will be hungry and the second half
will be rushed straight to the table.
On the
other hand if it’s a much more casual event then you won’t have a need to stick
to a time, but if you plan on serving hot finger food then it might be an idea
to keep this until all the guests have arrived and then throw it into the oven.
Number 10 – Keep it Simple.
I need to
tell myself this rule – A LOT! I tend to go overboard, but it just causes you
more hassle and stress than it’s worth. Don’t try and do four types of
potatoes. Just stick to the one. Don’t try and whip cream and serve ice-cream
with multiple other items for dessert when a simple cake with some pouring
cream will suffice. Think about how much time each will take and how you’re
going to remember each element that you planned. Take a step back and see if
it’s worth it!
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