Just recently I started a book club. It's a great way to get all your girlfriends together monthly and mingle while also meeting friends of friend too. Sipping on wine and having in depth conversations of the selected book gives a more classy and intellectual vibe on any given night. However, when a gathering happens during the week, it can get rather stressful for the host. For example, making sure your home is suitable to the guests, from cleaning, to cooking, to setting a table to making sure you have a great selection of wine.
Here are a list of things that I came up with to have a successful evening.
- Use brown or white butcher paper as a table cloth. 1) easy cleanup 2) Having a solid background gives you food and decor more of a pop 3) Give a great way to label your treats
- Rather than trying to do everything, come up with 1 appetizer, 1 entree, and 1 dessert- in this case less is more
- I like to add color with decor and labeling. ie: flowers, napkins, glasses, and using an orange sharpie for labeling
- When thinking about placement of food and such, I like to keep it sporadic. It makes everyone look at everything at once especially at a buffet type setting.
- And lastly, the obvious- Make sure to plan ahead that way you are not stressing or making last minute trips to the store.
Cheat: A tip that I learned when I was in Chicago is how to make pizza quickly. Not from scratch of course. We bought a couple of the most inexpensive cheese pizzas you can find in the frozen food section and dressed them up with our own toppings. It's fast, low maintenance, and plus you can give the option for your guests to create their own.
I wish I had better pictures and lighting.
Let me know what you think or if you have any suggestions on hosting.
