Having friends and family over for dinner can be a lovely occasion to reconnect and spend a cosy evening with your loved ones – but it can also be a source of stress. How do you ensure your guests have a good time and the food turns out fabulous?
1. Accommodate your guests
First and foremost, before you even start planning the menu, ask your guests about their dietary preferences. Make sure you do this without giving them the feeling that it’s an inconvenience if they have any special requirements!
We don’t recommend cooking separate portions for guests with different requirements, as this can become awkward over dinner and make them feel excluded from the main meal. Instead, prepare dishes that everyone can share. Gluten-free, dairy- free and other alternatives can be easily found online and are generally just as tasty, so no one will be missing out on a delicious meal. Plus, you won’t need to cook the same thing twice!
2. Welcome your loved ones
Once your friends and family arrive, let them know where drinks, napkins and other essentials are, and make sure to show them where the bathroom is as well. It may seem obvious to you that people will just ask you if they need anything, but they may be shy and avoid bothering you, so giving them all the information at the start makes things much easier for everyone.
3. Have fabulous cooking
As for ensuring the food turns out fantastic, don’t experiment with recipes you’ve never tried on the day of the dinner, but instead stick to tried and true classics that you can trust to please your guests. If you’re inviting adventurous foodies, you can go all out and serve international cuisines. If you’ve got fussy eaters in the mix, go for something simple that everyone knows and loves.
4. Get everyone involved
Instead of cooking in advance and then inviting everyone over to eat, why not host your friends and loved ones for a communal cooking session? It can be a fantastic way to connect with your guests and allows everyone to chip in.
To ensure it goes smoothly, put on some upbeat music and try to devide tasks in a way that makes things efficient and doesn’t have everyone standing in each other’s way. Kids may be curious and ask to get involved too—give them small, easy tasks that are safe and don’t require you to keep too much of an eye on them.
We recommend agreeing on a recipe before everyone arrives so there is no conflict during the cooking. Some people have strong opinions so it’s best to settle the details in advance.
5. Plan ahead
Make sure you’ve stocked up on all the ingredients and have enough gas to last you through all of your cooking. We’ve had our gas run out on us more than once and it’s always stressful to scramble for more at the last minute!
A version of this article first appeared in SquareRooms.
