You’ve come to the right spot if you live in a tiny space with limited storage or want to reduce clutter. You can certainly 100 % be the hostess with most without clogging your kitchen cabinets with a myriad of party items. Experts give their opinions on what you can take and leave behind and ensure that your next gathering is a success.
Matching Place Settings
Be reassured about keeping a lot of placemats, plates, napkins, plates, and other accessories in your kitchen, suggested Sara Raak, a blogger and the founder of Totable Tablescapes. “A dinner party is more fun when you treat your table design like artwork,” she said. “Have fun with mixing and matching colors, patterns, and textures.” Also, as an added benefit, you can show off your style techniques while doing it. “If you use all of the same style products from one brand, it can start to look like you copied the table setting out of a catalog and you lose your personal touch,” says Nan Philip, a public marketing and relations consultant as well as a blog writer on Simply Elegant. “It is fun to get a little creative!”
In particular, Ally Ravnaas of the Instagram accounts The Petite Party offers advice about napkins. “Collect fun paper napkins for more casual happy hours, dinners, and lunches,” she suggests. “Then invest in one long-term linen set for formal occasions.” As an added benefit, you can find numerous chic paper napkin designs to fit any theme or holiday and season, So you’ll have a choice of holiday-themed options.
If you use the same product style from a single brand, it may look like you’ve duplicated the table layout from a catalog. Consequently, you’ll lose unique design.
Chargers for the Table
Similarly, do not fret about shelling out more money and sacrificing space for chargers. “While they may look nice, I see them as being somewhat useless, especially if you’re already using a placemat,” blogger Tiffany Barino of My Eclectic Nest states. “If there is ever an item that I feel I can live without for entertaining, it’s the charger plate for me!”
And Instagrammer Rashida Banks believes that placemats aren’t necessary. “The material of the plates and other tableware against the tabletop surface provides a beautiful contrasting interest of color, textures, and finishes,” she declares. “So ditch the placemats and expose your beautiful tabletop!”
A Spacious Dining Room
Don’t let a tiny space stop you from having a fantastic dinner party! “People think they need a large, perfectly decorated space with lots of seating, but that’s not true,” Christina Nease of Celebrations at Home states. There are various ways to maximize your space while still being festive. “If you don’t have a dining room table, host a cocktail party where guests stand and mingle,” Nease suggests. “Or organize an outdoor picnic or a boho dinner with guests sitting in the ground. Make your space into the perfect theme night!”
Tons of Banners
Are you organizing a variety of activities for your younger audience? Consider implementing this idea that comes from Blogger Heather Thibodeau. “It’s pretty common at kids’ birthday parties, especially to see birthday banners that were purchased for that event and that event only,” she declares. “But an event banner doesn’t need to be a one-and-done type of thing. Purchase a reusable chalkboard or pennant-style banner that you mark up and then erase. It can be reused to mark any occasion.” Furthermore, this option is cost-effective, environmentally sustainable, and a win everywhere.
Seasonal Servingware
The Santa plates are cute. The leaves are adorable, as are the candy corn-themed cups you have stashed in your wardrobe. Are they just a waste of space? You can go for a more adaptable solution.
“Often it’s hard to resist seasonal serveware, especially around the holidays, but it’s something you can live without,” Shannon Calderon and Jenna Dail of The Busy Bee say.
What should a hostess with a Christmas party do? “We recommend investing in solid, neutral pieces, such as all-white platters, wooden cutting boards, and marble trays, so you can use them all year long and so they coordinate with any aesthetic you are trying to achieve,” Calderon and Dail advise. They suggest expressing the spirit of Christmas through beverages and food. “Prepare seasonal recipes to incorporate the colors of the season and allow the serveware pieces to highlight each menu item.”
A Sophisticated Coffee Setup
While everyone enjoys coffee in the early hours of the day, it’s less important at night. “Having an elaborate coffee service prepared is usually a fruitless endeavor at a party,” said Ashley Bronczek and Candace Ourisman of Secretly Giving. “One or two friends may inquire about coffee, so if you have a Keurig and a few mugs, you’re all set!”
An Elaborate Serving Tray
Serving trays can look beautiful, but they’re only sometimes the most practical for an occasion, Bronczek and Ourisman say. “Forgo the serving trays with handles for your beverages,” they recommend. “You will be too busy ensuring your guests have fun to be carrying around drinks to serve.”
A Home-Cooked Meal
Not to be left out, there’s no need for you to master the cooking skills (and make sure you have pots and pans you don’t plan on making use of in the future) to be at ease inviting guests to your home for a meal. “So many restaurants are offering ready-made meals that you can cook at home, and your guests never even need to know,” Philip writes. “Just pop the food in the oven, heat it, place it on your serving platter, and no one is the wiser!”
