Down Time Entertaining – Kitchen Complete
I love simple entertaining, such as hosting a “down time entertaining” party. It’s a classy way to entertain, with little stress and lots of fun!
We don’t always host sit-down dinners. Sometimes it’s really casual and we serve buffet style, and sometimes we just munch on snacks and have a glass of wine.
With Thanksgiving around the corner, think of light appetizers that aren’t too heavy. Ones that you can whip up in no time, very few ingredients, and could be a great way to bring friends together this weekend or over the week ahead.
I love the holidays, and hosting friends who come from out of town, even if they don’t stay with us. Coming over for a few hours to catch up means everything to us!
I like to call it “down time entertaining.”
Come on over for some down time, mellow, low-key relaxation!
It’s good to have your entertaining supplies organized and ready.
These kind of parties are likely to center on the living room, but depending on the style of your home, it may spill over into other areas.
In our home, people like to mingle in the kitchen. We have a really large center island that is very hand to spread the food out, or better yet, we often host the buffet around this area.
A simple approach to preventing congestion in the kitchen is to spread out the food and drinks.
Put the bowls of nibble foods in one area. Maybe put one platter out in the living room or in the family room, so people can eat and not have to leave the conversation.
Have a drink station where people can serve themselves.
Set out a bowl of nuts … maybe a puzzle, or Scrabble game, and sit back and just relax.
Lighting and music add to “down time entertaining,” but it’s obvious that it’s really about catching up with friends, sometimes rediscovering one another, that makes it all worthwhile!
This past Monday night, we were invited to a soup-night meal with our friends. It was the perfect “down time” that we needed.
The next day, I realized our text messages to each other were too precious to not share.
The core of hospitality really is love and food: Be there for one another, leave when you need to, know that you are loved!
Are you hosting any casual events in the next few weeks, either before or after Thanksgiving?
We’ve recently worked with Lowe’s Home Improvement on our kitchen project. Read more on phase one, here: Brightening the Kitchen. The next phase was Paint and Lighting. Then came the countertops and backsplash. Yesterday a new KitchenAid® Platinum Interior, Standard-Depth French Door Refrigerator, Architect® Series II was delivered to our home. I can’t wait to tell you more about it. Our kitchen is finally complete! A hearty thanks to Lowe’s Home Improvement and KitchenAid for helping us brighten up our kitchen. Now we can entertain like crazy and enjoy the beautiful holidays ahead!
Hello and welcome to my home and table!
I’m Sandy—lover of food, family, cooking, THE BIG BOARD, travel, and bringing people together. Through great recipes and connection around the table, we become better, stronger, and more courageous people. Feasting on Life is real, and every time we do it, we grow a little more. Read more...
Your kitchen looks great! We are thinking of getting LG HiMacs counters – how are they doing these past few months? We are worried about them looking like plastic and scratching easily. Thanks!!
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All my life I have wanted a mixer from you but I can’t afford one maybe before I go I will be able to have one
Even with a small kitchen my family would agree that i put out some wonderful dishes, I envy beautiful kitchens and could only imagine how many people i could entertain with new creations with such a beautiful kitchen as yours.
Sandy It’s so beautiful!! I want to come visit again so we can hang in your kitchen. :)
Your kitchen is completely gorgeous! I love downtime entertaining, and I love that you have a name for it. It’s so much fun to get together in a casual setting and escape some of the holiday stress, and your simple suggestions are great. Cheers!
Sandy, it looks beautiful!! It’s so refreshing to me to see that you kept your wood cabinets. Lately I’ve been feeling like the only person in the world who hasn’t painted her cabinets. And to tell the truth, I’d really like to paint SOME of them, because we have so many all the same color. But wood cabinets are really lovely, and yours look great with the new paint and countertops! And oh, that KitchenAid fridge. You know I love KitchenAid!!
Hope you’re doing well, sweet friend!
Loving your kitchen. How fun! We don’t have too many plans to entertain, though an 18th birthday party is on the 30th…
It’s gorgeous!! Love your tips on entertaining, Sandy!
The kitchen looks marvelous; can’t wait to hear about the new refrigerator!
Friends coming over to watch the Packers/Vikings game this Sunday, and to catch up a bit, as we haven’t seen one another in a while. Pulled pork with 2 kinds of BBQ sauce for sandwiches (pork cooked, shredded and frozen two weeks ago), either home made baked “fries” or scalloped potatoes (it’s going to be freezing cold Sunday – probably the scallop to keep us warm), broccoli/cheese hot dip with chips and pretzels, cheese & sausage tray, baby carrots with ranch dressing. One of the couples is bringing brownies for dessert.
We will need the chocolate to console us; the Packers haven’t exactly been playing well lately.
Your kitchen looks wonderful:-)
I love this way of entertaining! No stress for the host and everyone gets to do what’s important… spend time together! I plan to have different groups of friends over in the coming weeks and months to keep winter from becoming “blah” and keeping things simple sounds like an ideal way to enjoy entertaining!