Day 7. The Dinner: Theme or No Theme?
In my new book, The Reluctant Entertainer, I have a page of ideas for different kinds of parties that you can hold. If you have the time and energy to put into a themed dinner party, they can be a blast! Every New Years Eve I throw a big party, and it’s a very interactive party that includes everyone. But I will admit that themed parties take a lot of time and work.
Most of my best parties have been very simple (no theme.)
Invite.
Set the Table.
Eat.
Enjoy.
Sometimes we get too hung up on themes and impressing with a theme. And that causes stress.
Why not keep it simple? Plan a simple dinner party and just make sure to keep it authentic and real, with good conversation.
What’s your favorite kind of dinner party? Do you choose to keep it simple or prefer to go all out?
(My friend Darcy is doing an amazing job in this 31-Day Series, teaching photography. Her posts the last 2 days, on aperture, are absolutely brilliant. Check out her amazing tutorials. If you haven’t been following Darcy from Day 1, you might want to, because you will understand photography in a whole new way.)
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Chatting at the Sky, Nesting Place, Balancing Beauty and Bedlam, My First Kitchen, Life With My 3 Boybarians, Remodeling This Life, The Inspired Room
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Thinking about doing a 50’s potluck where the dishes are to be the the 1950’s.
How about an evening with the girls and watch an old musical like 7 Brides for 7 brothers or Oklahoma , you get the idea. We also like game night. I like it casual, less stress for me and I am a pretty down to earth woman. I think themes are fun. People get excited about them.
Loving the tablescape and I like having a theme. Keeps my mind on the big picture.
http://ashleyanderic.blogspot.com
I think there is a time and place for dinner parties with a theme, but for everyday dinners and informal occasions, I think it is best to keep it simple, doesn’t hhhhave to be paper plates and throw-away cutlery, but if that is what keeps the stress-level at bay and allows you to welcome people into your home, I say GO.FOR.IT!
The best baby shower I ever hosted was where I used leftover decorations tied to a branch hanging above the island where the food was served. The food was delegated. The pasta salad was brought, and the crusty bread was brought. All I did was make shortcake, make a punch, and provide the home. It was a Southern Sip and See and it was a blast! No expectations. No favors. Just friends keeping it simple and enjoying every minute!
Did you watch last night’s episode of Modern Family? Pepper (played by Nathan Lane) was hosting yet another themed dinner party (you should have heard the titles of his themed parties…LOL), the funny thing was, his themed dinner parties had become so extravagant that they were now a burden to all his guests, so everyone had cancelled! Perfect timing for this post!
I used to theme and spend a lot of time on special decorations and table accessories. Unfortunately, I find my life does not afford the time for such preparations anymore and I’m not quite as enamored with them as I used to be. A great meal, great friends and family….what else could you need? Have totally enjoyed your series Sandy, looking forward to tomorrow’s post.
Oh, gosh. I love the thought of elaborate themes. . . but I don’t have what it takes to carry out a DINNER party around a theme! If it’s a dinner party, then it’s simple.
Now, I will admit that I like to have parties, but those usually don’t include a sit-down dinner. For instance, last Christmas Jack and I hosted a party to watch the classic movie White Christmas. We have a home theatre, so movie parties are easy for us–and so much fun! Some of our guests had never seen White Christmas at all–and none of them had seen it on a big screen! It was great. :)
Love your theme….
Invite.
Set the Table.
Eat.
Enjoy.
Perfect.
We don’t do theme dinners per say, we might have an Italian dinner and put a red checkered table cloth on but it does not go farther than that. I always set a nice table, and to be honest it is not for the guests it is for me, I just like a beautiful tablescape. The guests get to enjoy it too! But it is only tableware, candles, and different centerpieces that myself or my wife put together. We perfer to just enjoy the people we invite and the coversation that goes on around the table and then after as we sit and just enjoy each others company. Remember to not let things get to complicated, or you as the host/ hostess will not get to enjoy your guests. But there are such great things to set a table with during this great Fall Season and most are free for the taking just walk around your neighborhood collecting leaves, pinecones, twigs….. gets to thinking I need to go for walk….. later !!!
Blessings to you and yours
Curtis & Sherrie
Oh! I’m totally loving the photography tutorials. I haven’t really had time to practice, but I’m loving them. They are so much easier to understand than other tutorials I’ve read.
I haven’t really done theme parties. I think I tend to like to keep things simple because life is so busy. I wouldn’t mind a themed party though. It would be fun.
What if your theme is that you have no theme? (Wasn’t that a key line in the movie Singles?) Cheers!
At this time in our lives it is much easier to be very casual, no themes, just good food, friends, and conversation.
Last week I went to Wal-Mart and bought 16 dinner plates and bowls in a really pretty cream color. Each piece was only $3 and it because it’s so neutral, it coordinates with my more expensive salad and dessert plates. I had three women stop me before I even made it to my car with it (one when I was actually putting it in my car). Couldn’t believe I got something so beautiful from Wal-Mart. It’s called ruffle-edged dinnerware and it’s by Better Homes and Gardens (comes in other pretty colors as well). Even has coordinating entertaining pieces such as a serving bowl, platter, and gravy boat. Let the entertaining begin….
Whenever the seasons change I host a dinner party themed on that season, which is good because it means the food is in season as well. Autumn/Fall dinner parties are great fun and easy to do. I’ve written a blog post detailing the best Fall themed dinner parties from the Project Food Blog competition – http://secretdinnerparty.blogspot.com/2010/10/ultimate-august-themed-dinner-parties.html – there’s some great menu/decoration ideas there!
The photos are stunning, so much so that I had to hop on over to Darcy’s site and start reading about photography. These 31 days of October are going to kill me! I love casual entertaining (and like others) enjoy setting a beautiful table. Sometimes I like to go the good china/silver/crystal route, and sometimes I prefer my more rustic Harlequin dishes. Sometimes, I just mix it all up.
I enjoy setting a pretty table, too- but not too busy because I don’t like big flowers or things blocking my view of everyone! And then, it’s fine to just have pizza or something right out of the box if the conversation is encouraging and fun! :)
I love to set beautiful table for dinner party! I always take one or two hours to chose every elements. A pretty table = a great dinner!