10 Tips for a Happy Holiday Dinner Party

Planning a dinner party for friends or family this holiday season?

A few dinner party planning tips:

1. The ideal number of guests for a dinner party is 6 to 8.
2. Offer a signature cocktail and a limited selection of beer, red wine and white wine to keep your alcohol within your budget.
3. Never run of out of ice. Make lots.
4. Set your playlist up before guests arrive. You don't want to waste time messing around with music when you should be entertaining guests.
5. If you've invited a crowd, consider renting linens and place settings. You can return them dirty and won't have to worry about the extra clean up.
6. Prepare for extra, unexpected guests — have an extra chair or two, extra place settings, and of course, extra food.
7. Try out your recipes beforehand. The day of the party is not the day to experiment with new food.
8. Create ambience — low (but sufficient) lighting, centrepieces and a properly set table are must.
9. Think strategically about where you seat people. Consider common interests and who is more outgoing.
10. Clean your bathroom. Too obvious?
11. Offer to call cabs for your guests and have numbers for local taxi companies on hand. Don't forget that you have a responsiblity as the host to ensure that your guests get home safely.

Party planning resources from around the internet:

• 14 tips for hosting a flawless dinner party (Canadian Living)
• 101 Party Do's and Don'ts (HouseBeautiful)
• Tips for Happy Holiday Entertaining (Wine Access)
• Holiday Parties and Menus (Martha Stewart)

Dinner party wine tips:

• 5 red wines for a dinner party
• 5 white wines for a dinner party

Photo: anoldent