Spring can be a busy time of year. Although it’s not “the holiday season” of December, you may be preparing for the spring season with Good Friday, Easter or Passover. This is often the second busiest holiday season for entertaining. You don’t need to stress over not having a lot of time for planning and cleaning. Here are some easy tips to have your home entertainment-ready. Whether you’re having just two guests or 40, a quick run-through of the list below can help boost your home’s potential to make your guests feel as comfortable as possible.
So to prepare correctly for the gathering meal, we recommend to start preparing and cleaning the kitchen in stages over several weeks. Counters need to be scrubbed down, stovetops, ovens and refrigerators need to be wiped clean and the good china should be dust free. And that’s just the kitchen…whew!
The good news is you can get the entire house deep cleaned without losing your mind completely, even if you work full-time. That’s where HouseMaids can help or even be a lifeline.
After all of the house cleaning is taken care of, a general rule of thumb I use when entertaining is pleasing all of the senses. Whenever there is a get-together an abundance of great tasting food is a given. But what about all the other senses: sight, sound, scent and touch? Make sure you cover all of these aspects, not just to make sure your guests are comfortable, but also to give them an unforgettable experience.
Touch: Create multiple conversation areas. Take a look at your living room, dining room and any other communal space where you think you’ll be entertaining. Is your furniture conducive to group conversation? Can guests have smaller, more private conversations and then join the larger discussion again with ease? Is the furniture comfortable enough for guests of all ages to sit for long periods of time? It’s important not to overlook creating a comfortable seating area for your guests to be able to engage in great conversation.
Sight: Take out your best china — but don’t be afraid to mix it up with fun, casual pieces. Even if your dinner party is more formal than casual, add a note of levity to the gathering by pairing bold napkins with your delicate, wedding-registry china. And don’t wait for another “perfect occasion” to break out the Noritake plates or Wedgwood tea set — there’s no better time than the present to treat your guests like royalty; show them by serving them their meal on your best dinnerware.
Play with the centerpiece. An all-white table with a floral centerpiece makes a simple and dramatic statement for the spring season. The centerpiece height should still let guests seated across from each other talk with ease, and the vase should be easily relocated to another part of the dining area after guests have settled into their place at the table.
Keep in mind that centerpieces don’t always have to be floral: seasonal fruits, religious or themed decor, or a small grouping of vases or candlesticks make for an affordable and aesthetically pleasing alternative. No matter how formal your affair, a centerpiece that’s fuss-free and low maintenance keeps the table conversation-friendly.
Don’t be afraid to dim the lights and create mood lighting. Dinner by candlelight can make any space feel intimate and cozy. If you’ve spent a large part of the night indoors and the weather permits it, switch to a more laid-back outdoor space for dessert and coffee, so guests can have a change of scenery and enjoy some fresh air. If you need to stay indoors, at least you can go from the dining room to the family or living room or even the kitchen table to play cards.
Add a touch of theme. You don’t have to go overboard with a holiday theme. A tasteful Easter egg console centerpiece doesn’t have to scream bunnies and pastels, but it could remind guests why they’ve gathered together in the first place.
Scent: Offer a pleasant scent. How your house smells may be as important as how it looks. But as with everything that has to do with taste and preference, we all have different ideas of what does or doesn’t smell fantastic. Here are some general guidelines for scented candle and diffuser use:
- Scented candles are great for small spaces, like bathrooms and powder rooms.
- Don’t mix artificially created scents with food. Since dining is a sensory experience, the natural aroma of the meal should never compete with a scented candle.
- Stay seasonal with scents. Spring calls for floral scents; pick aromatic fresh flowers to add to a centerpiece or buy a floral scent, like an orange blossom, lilac and jasmine diffuser.
- Don’t forget about personal perfumes, if too strong they can overpower the scents in the house.
Sound: Set the mood with music. A good dinner party always has an amazing soundtrack. Background music can also help put first-to-arrive or new guests at ease. For cocktails and hors d’oeuvres, consider elegant chill-out music, like bossa nova, old-school rhythm and blues or acoustic guitar. Don’t be afraid to change up the tempo and the music once dinner’s been served: Ella Fitzgerald, Norah Jones or Frank Sinatra for example, make for easy listening, and they’re general crowd pleasers.
Finally close off areas that you don’t want curious guests to wander into. Whether it’s a messy home office or your private master bedroom, you can politely direct traffic elsewhere by closing the door or giving a limited house tour that lets guests peek into only the spaces that you want them to see.
Last but not least, you can do a clutter-clearing run-through before guests are set to arrive. Put on some upbeat music, go through the areas of your home that are open to guests and clear the clutter. Doesn’t your house (and mind) always feel so much cleaner and lighter after you clear through the clutter?
A few clues that your house is guest ready: The coffee table has plenty of room for cocktails and hors d’oeuvres, and the pillows are fluffed to perfection. But most of all you have made your home pleasing to all of your guests’ senses!
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