I love to host dinner parties. There was a time that I even thought about doing it for a living, back in the day. Mainly I never did do it for a living, but I did get paid for it, more often than not. Still to this day I enjoy the planning, shopping and especially the cooking for small parties of four to twelve. With social gathering opening in the state of Texas I thought it might be fun to share some of the guidelines that I always use for in home parties. Some to use for catering outside the home also.

The first thing I always do is select a theme. The theme makes selecting the menu and the courses that will be served easier to decide. Goodwill and thrift shops are a good resource for gathering items for your party without breaking the bank.

Second who will be attending. Is there any food allergies? Are there any vegans? Some invitees may be on self-restrictive diets. The biggest question of all do you want to accommodate those type of restrictions.

Is there a good mix of interests. It could get very awkward if you maybe have an avid hunter at the same table with a person that is against hunting for any reason or guns for a matter of fact.

Once those things are decided the next is deciding what food courses will be served. What dinnerware is to be used. Will it be formal, casual, family or backyard picnic style. Fine china and crystal or paper plates and plastic. Maybe use mason jars for drinks. Often mismatched plates and glassware is a fun and personal touch.

It really is up to you to decide. There are drawbacks and perks to all of them, it really depends on the type of party you are giving. For a small dinner party that everyone will be seated at a table I like to lay out all the dinner, flatware and serving pieces on the table to make sure there is adequate space for everything including the side dishes. Often time it is very beneficial to add a couple of small side table for extraneous uses like extra drinks, breads or items that the guests may want seconds from.

Now is the fun stuff. Bringing the theme home with decorations and food. The internet has thousands of ethnic recipes along with tutorials to show how to cook just about anything. As far as decorations go your imagination is the only limit you have.  I have put in a few here just for some ideas to maybe get you started into thinking what can be done.

I hope this gave you a few guidelines for planning your next party.

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