Entertaining at Home…What to Invest In

So you want to start entertaining at home? Trust me, it’s not as time consuming or complicated as one might expect. One of the first steps to entertaining at home and giving your guests a great experience is making sure you have all the right supplies. Here are a few key items to invest in to make entertaining easier on you.

1. Serving Platters and Bowls. Let’s face it, when we’re rushing to welcome guests, the kitchen is the last place we try to keep clean. What’s the key to keeping your guests out of our messy kitchen and in the living area enjoying themselves?  The key is serving all of your delicious dishes all at once on serving platters. Yes, I know it adds to the dishes to be cleaned at the end of the night, but your guests will appreciate the effort.

Another great thing about investing in serving plates and dishes is that you don’t have to have a color theme or keep with a prominent theme in your home. Don’t get hung up on having to have matching serving ware, you can certainly get away with an eclectic variety. (Photo: Crateandbarrel.com)

2. Cocktail Glasses. Start with the essential wine glasses and then add martini and margarita glasses to your collection. For the obvious reasons, cocktail glasses allow you to serve your guests cocktails in their appropriate glasses. Cocktails glasses aren’t just used for drinks though, you can use them to serve a variety of dishes and desserts. (Photo:thebakingbeauties.com)

3. Serving Utensils. Make life easier for you and your guests by having the appropriate utensils for each dish being served. Key items to look out for: a large slotted spoon, large fork, large spoon, and tongs. Having the appropriate utensils along with their corresponding dish, eliminates you running to and from the kitchen, trying to find a fork or spoon for serving.

4. Pitchers and/or Beverage Containers. When you entertain at home, it should be entertaining for you and your guests. The best way to enjoy yourself as a host is to limit the amount of work you have to do. Such as telling people what you have to offer them to drink or getting up to show them where they can find the lemonade in the refrigerator. Pitchers and beverage containers allow you to keep all of your beverage offerings out and available. With a few creative ice ideas, you don’t have to worry about keeping them cold either. (Photo: marthastewartweddings.com)

You don’t have to rush out and purchase all of these at once, just pass through the home goods section the next time you’re out shopping and see what you find!

Say Cheese! Photo Booth Fun

Who doesn’t love a photo booth?! It’s a joy for guests and hosts alike.

There are so many creative ideas you can apply to your photo booth. Check them out and see which one makes you want to say Cheese!

Don’t forget the Props

Props are one of the best ideas to implement into your photo booth. For one, they’re fun but they also allow your guests to embrace the theme of your event, the more creative the better. Props are also good for the shy guests in the crowd; you can’t help but do silly things when you have a red nose on your face. (Photo: armelleblog.com)

Some Prop Ideas:
– Baby Shower: Rattles, Baby Bottles, Bibs, fun things for guest to throw on and use.
– Mustache and Bowtie Parties: Let’s see..Mustaches and Bowties 🙂 You can do quick and easy cutouts of mustaches and bowties and have guests become the proper gentleman in seconds.
– Bridal Shower: Veils, big fake diamond rings or even ring pops. What lady doesn’t want to feel like a bride, even if only for a few clicks?
– White Boards/Chalk Boards. Want to know what you’re guests are really thinking? Grab a white board, some markers and a camera. Lets your guests express themselves. They might surprise you!

Photo Booth vs. Backdrop and Sets

There are so many photo booth vendors available that you can rent from. They’ll bring the classic photo booth in and have someone on hand to help out your guests as they enjoy the fun.  I love the idea of photo booths over backdrops, because guests usually feel more comfortable acting silly when they are behind a curtain instead of onlookers. (Photo: heathercookelliot.com)

 

 

Or…

You can set up a backdrop or set. Backdrops and Sets serve as the inspiration of your guests’ poses and photos. They are also a great way to have the theme or purpose of your event come through for others who might view the pictures later. For corporate events you could have a banner with your company logo or event name used as the backdrop. Or for a Housewarming party you could do a cute house set, such as the one pictured below. (Photo: stylemepretty.com)

With both the backdrop and sets don’t forget to hire or recruit to volunteer, a great photographer. They should be fun, energetic, patient and most importantly great at taking photos. Especially candid shots, those are always the best ones out of the bunch.

We can’t forget the kids…and kids at heart

Let’s face it, children won’t sit still in a photo booth for long, and your set or backdrop could end up torn to pieces by the first click. So give the kids some space. Take a big inside wall or side of the house and creative a colorful and festive backdrop (and throw in a few props) to keep the kids happy and entertained long enough to get some great pics! (Photo: momtog.com)

Have a question or idea about photo booth you’d like explored? Leave a comment and we’ll talk about it on an upcoming post.

Thinking Outside the Circle – Square and Rectangular Banquet Tables

It’s time we start thinking outside of the circle. Often times when it comes to laying out our events and ordering our party supplies, we run straight to the traditional round banquet tables.

Let’s pull our seat out from the classic round banquet table and see what else there is out there for us.

A square banquet table provides for not only a different look and introduces your guests to something new, but it also adds to the ease of dinner conversation.

When planning corporate events, consider your attendees comfort. Laying out the venue with square tables and leaving one side empty of seating, allows for all of your guests to have a clear and comfortable view of the stage, without the table looking odd or empty. (Photo: Linzievents.com)

When I think of rectangular banquet tables, I think of family. Consider rectangular tables for your next baby or bridal shower. Anytime you want to feel the closeness and love of a family at an event, rectangular banquet tables are the way to go. (Photo: knot.com)

You can always mix it up, using a variety of square, round and rectangular tables for your event. For example, in my catering server day I staffed a very creative wedding, where all family and bridal party were seated at long family style rectangular tables, and the wedding guests were seated at classic rounds. (Photo: hostesswiththemostest.com)

Bonus! If you’re really “brave”, I found this wonderful idea of an octagon table. This is the perfect marriage between new shape and classic round. (Photo: Ellybevents.com)

For your next event, just take a few minutes and think outside the circle. You might just find a new look that is sure to wow your guests and maybe even yourself.