Five Vital Tips to Having a Successful Dinner Party in St. Louis
If you’re someone that likes to entertain and host people, then your party-planning probably goes further than “we’ll order a pizza or something.” Everything, from the decorations to the seating, has to be perfect. You want everything as well-planned and classic as the St. Louis Arch.
If you’re a St. Louis resident, you know the planning that goes into creating the perfect dinner party, from accurate planning to find the ideal St. Louis catering business. Below, we have some vital tips that will help you plan the perfect dinner party and make it an event your guests will be talking about for years to come.
Make Lists
Before you go about setting up for your party, you need to start making lists. You need to think of an invite list, a to-do list, and a shopping list. Your brain will thank you for it. Even though St. Louis is a pretty drivable city, you don’t want to be running around at the last minute or caught in traffic.
Whether you’re headed to Jay International Food Co on Grand Blvd. or DiGregorio’s Italian Market for a special Italian dinner, it pays to be able to plan ahead. Although you want to invite the whole posse, your house may have limited space, and chances are that you’ll have to trim the list down a bit.
Having all of these lists at least a week ahead of time is going to save you plenty of headaches and frustration.
Set Up the Party Area
Are you planning on having the party in stages? Will everyone immediately go to the dining room table? Think about the natural flow of your party.
Would you rather your party starts with cocktails and appetizers served in the living room or outside on your deck before moving inside? Will everyone come in and immediately be seated? Can anyone go into the kitchen, or is that off-limits? Keep in mind all the items you may need as well, such as a corkscrew or a small trashcan close to where everyone will be.
Think About the Food
The most crucial part of any dinner party is the food!
Are you going to go with typical St. Louis style pizza or bring out some classic pork steaks? If you’re cooking yourself, then you need to come up with a menu way ahead of time to make sure you have everything you need. Go over everything the day before to see if you need to make any emergency runs as well.
For chefs out there, try and make something you’re comfortable with. Don’t go too crazy with the menu and try something that is a significant risk/reward type deal. But why go to the trouble of cooking? Check out a St. Louis catering service and have them bring the food for you. You can work with any catering service to choose what will go on the menu.
Make Sure Everything is Ready When Guests Arrive
You hear the doorbell ring or someone knocks on the door, where do you want to be when this happens? Hopefully, waiting for their arrival and not trying to finish a million things before they walk in the door.
While people are at a dinner party to eat dinner, you don’t want to forget the party aspect behind it. Make sure you do enough planning so you can actually be out and enjoy the crowd of people you have with you instead of pulling out plates and cups or setting the table.
Clean the Next Day
If everything goes well, then people will be raving about your party. The catering was a great choice, and the wine was second-to-none. At the end of a party, you’re going to be tired. Instead of trying to clean everything up now, just leave it until tomorrow, you deserve it.
