Stress Free Dinner Parties

The prospect of inviting friends over for a meal fills rookie dinner party planners with as much terror as if they were asked to organise an international peace summit in a country in a different timezone that speaks a different language. They need a simple, step-by-step guide giving them the confidence they need to relax and enjoy the night.Professional event and wedding planners use the same method to plan all their events. Stress Free Dinner Parties: How to plan, host and enjoy your party shares this approach, advising hosts on selecting guests, food and drinks, as well as how to prepare their homes, and bring it all together on time and budget.Drawing on her personal and professional event planning experiences, lessons learned the hard way, and advice from her Etiquette Heroines, lazy stay at home socialite Alexandria Blaelock leads the way.She will help readers make the most of their limited time using modern management techniques, streamlining their schedule and preparations, and allowing them to accept the comfort of contemporary conveniences.Readers start by developing a plan for their dinner party and then make their preparations. With all their boxes ticked, they can remain calm as they cook for and entertain their guests, and then clean up, close out and get back to normal. They'll discover: Guests: How many to invite, people to include and avoid, how to encourage them to arrive, keep them entertained and then make them leave. Menu: How to put together a balanced menu, manage dietary requirements, determine serving sizes, match drinks, and host a dinner party when they can't or won't cook. Home: How to clean, decorate, and prepare their home for the party and how to get back to normal afterwards. Making sure they have enough furniture, cookware, dishes, cutlery, and glasses as well as how to avoid having to buy more. Schedule: Step-by-step, what to do in the weeks leading up to the party from choosing a date to cleaning the house, laying in supplies and test cooks as well as working out an agenda for the day. And as a bonus: how to set a budget and keep the costs down how to plan a practical and attractive outfit to wear while cooking how to lay the table tips and tricks to make you look like a better cook than they are. All so they can host their dinner party, and enjoy it too.