Entertaining guests is often a fun idea, yet hard to execute once you stare at the open space in your home. You may fear you don’t have enough room or enough things to entertain people, but you can actually make any space party-worthy. Attention to detail and planning go a long way when it comes to making your home the place to party.
Before you begin, you must decide what your needs are when it comes to entertaining. Decide if you’re going to throw elegant cocktail parties, fun happy hour bashes or just your everyday barbecue gatherings. You can match your style to your type of entertaining to maximize your entertaining space. You don’t always need elaborate decorations or a perfect place, but more of a space designed to match your parties.
Lots of Seating
Make sure you have adequate seating for the number of people. People love to mingle and chit chat, but they also love to sit while they drink and just talk to friends. You can have tables set up throughout the room or just rely on your couches and chairs to accommodate people. Put enough seating in the area of the food so people can grab food then sit down to talk. You can even set up action stations where food is at each table so people can mix and mingle with guests and food at the same time.
Food and Beverages
Entertaining guests means having lots of food and drinks. If it’s a casual gathering, snacks and alcohol or sodas is perfect. If it’s more of a formal gathering, have different types of wine and spritzers available for guests. Everyone loves a good food tray so it’s always safe to go with different types of food. People love to stand around and just eat. Set out the food in different areas so guests have easy access to it. Make sure you have enough plates, cups and silverware as well. It also sets the mood so make the tone of the music match the tone of the party. If it’s casual, go for fun music. If it’s formal, go for more of an orchestra sound.
Music
Guests love good music. Create a fun playlist or tune your radio in to a great station to entertain guests. Don’t have it too loud, but at a nice volume for background music. If there’s a lull in conversation, it doesn’t seem as weird when the music is flowing.
Clean and Declutter
When entertaining guests, make your house look like those in the magazines. Put away the remote controls, the extra blankets and the dishes stacking up on the counter. Clean up the things you use on an every day basis. It’s often a joke that you want to make it look like no one lives in the house! If you have kids, put away the toys that are usually thrown across the living room floor. The stacks of mail on your counter can easily be put in a drawer. Don’t worry, you can get it all back out after the party.
