It’s Make it Memorable Monday again and today we are taking our little gem from Robyn Freedman Spizman’s book that inspired this column, Make it Memorable, and A – to- Z guide to making any event, gift or occasion dazzling.
I love to have dinner parties. They are one of my all time favourite forms of entertaining. They can be intimate, boisterous, casual or formal. Dinner parties are surprisingly easy to theme as well – a great way to take a normal evening and make it memorable!
So, how to throw a memorable dinner party?
Select a theme – consider a colour scheme, a cuisine, or even a season. The choice is yours! It doesn’t have to be over the top, but just a little extra touch to add some pizzazz. Below are some ideas from the book that might inspire YOU to create a dinner party with a bit of difference.
The ‘friend of a friend’ party Invite two couples to dinner and have them each bring along a couple that they know and love. What a way to get to know new people but ensure that everyone always has someone to talk to that they know!
An evening of ‘vine dining’ Can you guess what this might be? Try to serve as many things as possible that come from a vine; tomatoes, grapes etc.
The ‘Heart of Gold’ party. Celebrate someone who has done something great for others, lots of volunteering etc with a Heart of Gold party. The theme of the evening is gold, from gold napkins, place mats, gold wrapped chocolates – anything. Let them know you value their contributions.
A band night: Why not choose a favourite genre of music? The 70s or 80s is easy, but what about a glam rock night or smoky blues? Get guests to come dressed in theme and make sure the ipod is stocked with some fabulous in theme tunes!
Classic pot luck dinner: Don’t forget to use the skills of your guests and have each couple to bring along their signature dish (maybe allocate a course so you don’t get too many of one type). This is a great way to take the load off you a bit but also to try new foods!
Dessert delights: Skip the dinner and go straight to dessert. Invite your guests over a bit later and serve up a range of sweet delights. Easier than a traditional dinner party, but still with real impact!
So, are you inspired? Can you think of some fabulous dinner party ideas that you could use? In Freedman-Spizman’s words:
“…remember the four P’s: plan, prepare and present it with pizzazz. Prepare everything you can ahead of time so that you can enjoy your guest”
And no, I didn’t copy this sentence for my blog banner – we must just think alike?!
I’d love to hear some of your ideas for fab dinner parties; what would you love to do? What have you done?
