Determine dietary restrictions
If you are hosting a dinner party, it is nice to know if anyone has any allergies or dietary restrictions before you set your menu. You will make it easier for everyone if you serve something that most people like and no one will break out in hives eating!

 

Offer non-alcoholic beverages
Play it safe and always have non-alcoholic beverages available for your guests and don’t make anyone feel uncomfortable if they don’t want a beer or glass of cheer.

 

Send kids to their room!
A room filled with toys and crafts that is! It is wonderful to have children be a part of your party and to eat with the adults, but there is also going to be a time when they will become board and whiney. A sure way to entertain your young guests is to have a place where they can go away from the adults. Have some toys and crafts available, maybe a kid’s movie playing, and small snacks and drinks. Everyone will enjoy themselves!

 

Make rules and discipline offenders
There is nothing more frustrating for the host then kids running wild in their house ruining everything they’ve spent hours preparing, and there is nothing more embarrassing for parents then having their kids get fussed at for doing something wrong while visiting someone’s home. To avoid these problems, a host of a party should tell the children what the rules are upfront. For example, “please take your shoes off”, “please play outside in the backyard”, “please sit at the children’s table to eat” etc. If a child does end up jumping on your furniture instead of on the backyard trampoline, you don’t have to wait for the parent to correct the behavior. Instead, nicely redirect the child by saying something like “David let’s go outside together and I’ll show you the trampoline where you can jump all you want.”

About the author