Whether you’ve got an upcoming birthday or are prepping for the holidays,
Celebrating with those you love is important.
After all, not only does it make special dates all the more memorable, but studies have found that “when we spend time with family, especially face-to-face, it significantly reduces the occurrence of depression, anxiety, and other mental illness.”
However, that doesn’t mean that planning a family gathering isn’t difficult, especially if you want to please everyone.
With that in mind, here are some top tips that you can use to impress when hosting your next family gathering.
Bring in the caterers.
The entire point of hosting a gathering or party is spending time with those you love. This is a goal that’s hard to achieve if you’re spending most of the party in the kitchen, slaving over the stove. However, this can quickly be remedied by hiring caterers who can do the hard work for you. This also makes it easier to cater to different dietary requirements or food preferences.
Furthermore, you can also hire specialist caterers for the holidays. For example, you could have an entire Thanksgiving dinner delivered to your home, from Turkey to the trimmings. Find out more at: https://www.saintgermaincatering.com/catering/thanksgiving-catering.
Host a potluck.
If you want to prepare your own food for your guests but don’t want to spend the entire party in the kitchen, you may want to host a potluck party, where each guest brings a dish to share instead. This reduces the amount of responsibility you face and gives everyone the chance to show off their culinary skills. However, you should be sure to coordinate this ahead of time so that you can avoid duplicate dishes!
Put together a drinks menu.
While the food is always the ‘star’ of any dinner party, it's also important that you think about the drinks you’ll be serving. For example, if you want to host a happy hour in your home, then you need to put together a themed drinks menu ahead of time. Remember to include non-alcohol alternatives or mocktails for guests who are driving or those who don’t want to drink.
Think about entertainment.
In addition to serving delicious food and drinks, you can ensure you impress at your next family gathering by nailing the entertainment, too. For example, you should put together a list of fun party games to play throughout the night, including some icebreaker activities if people are meeting for the first time. This could include games such as Mr & Mrs or classic card games, depending on the interests of the attendees.
You should also make sure that you choose the right background music, as this can have an influence on the overall party atmosphere. For example, livelier music could encourage guests to get up and start dancing, whereas slower music serves as the perfect backdrop to stimulating conversation. A good party playlist will likely include a mixture of both of the above. Alternatively, you could ask your guests to contribute to the playlist ahead of time.