{"id":1912,"date":"2017-02-09T17:31:49","date_gmt":"2017-02-09T17:31:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.redmasque.co.uk\/news\/?p=1912"},"modified":"2017-01-23T17:41:40","modified_gmt":"2017-01-23T17:41:40","slug":"the-smoothest-way-to-host-a-party","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.redmasque.co.uk\/news\/the-smoothest-way-to-host-a-party\/","title":{"rendered":"The smoothest way to host a party"},"content":{"rendered":"

With these clever tips, you can keep your guests happy and occupied\u2014and make yourself less stressed, from hello to good-by. Here are some handy ideas for planning a party<\/a> to help make it an enjoyable and stress free experience for you too…<\/p>\n

Guests go where the action is\u2014besides, they want to socialise with the host. Be ready to make them feel welcome.<\/p>\n

Welcome help. Reserve certain small jobs for early birds and those who shy away from being chatty. Offer the sorts of tasks you could give to an older child: setting out dishes and cutlery, plating hors d\u2019oeuvres, filling the water jugs, or putting bread rolls in a basket.<\/p>\n

Hide signs of stress. If anything makes a guest feel guiltier than watching the host do dishes after the meal, it\u2019s watching her do them before the meal. Use the dishwasher as a hiding spot for dirty dishes even those you\u2019ll ultimately wash by hand.<\/p>\n

Go with the sort of low-key nibbles you would find in a classy bar: small bowls of nuts, Bombay mix, and olives.<\/p>\n

Spirited conversation is a dinner party\u2019s bread and butter, but sometimes it needs a nudge.
\nManage moods. At holiday time, people tend to arrive hungry (and ready to indulge), so don\u2019t make them wait too long for the main event.<\/p>\n

Use a white tablecloth, white dishes, and just one or two rich accent colours and centrepieces should be tall enough to talk under or short enough to talk over.<\/p>\n

A place card for everyone. Seating plans may seem formal, but they actually make guests more comfortable. Think about who would benefit from particular placement: small children (seat near a parent), couples (split them up to encourage mixing), and hearing-impaired guests (reserve a quiet corner chair or seat them front and centre, depending on personality). Then fill in the blanks.<\/p>\n

Turn a table into a convenient, arm\u2019s reach refilling station. Load it with wine, jugs of water, and spare utensils to eliminate supply runs.<\/p>\n

Be present. Each time you get up to fetch something, you essentially abandon your guests. A host\u2019s primary duty isn\u2019t to feed people but to spend time with them. Serve family-style, and forget cleaning up mid-event. Carrying plates to the kitchen is one thing; but once you turn on a tap, you\u2019ve dissolved the festivity.<\/p>\n

To really spoil guests, set out the dessert \u2014fancy chocolates or salted caramels\u2014while you ready the baked goods. (Don\u2019t forget the desserts that guests brought!) Sweet cheeses and nuts with a dessert wine provide the right coda for the sugar-averse.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

With these clever tips, you can keep your guests happy and occupied\u2014and make yourself less stressed, from hello to good-by. Here are some handy ideas for planning a party to help make it an enjoyable and stress free experience for … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[545,543,547],"tags":[15,375,399,16],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.redmasque.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1912"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.redmasque.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.redmasque.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.redmasque.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.redmasque.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1912"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.redmasque.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1912\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1913,"href":"https:\/\/www.redmasque.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1912\/revisions\/1913"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.redmasque.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1912"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.redmasque.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1912"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.redmasque.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1912"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}