You know when you go to a dinner party and everything has been thought about – the table looks so beautiful, it’s full of interesting people around the dinner table, and there’s a lot of conversation happening. Hopefully, when you have a dinner party at your house, it will be like that, and planning for that to happen can be easy!
Choose a Theme
The theme is the first thing you should think of. The theme you choose will set the tone for the evening and be included on everything from the invitations, menu, and table decor. You could even incorporate some of the theme’s elements into the entertainment you choose. You don’t have to have a set theme like “Nautical Night” with seafood; you could simply have a sophisticated theme and focus on having a formal dinner party.
Decide on a Menu
When deciding on a menu, it’s important to think about what foods you are best at cooking at, your dinner guests’ dietary needs, or if you will have any elements of your dinner party catered or bought somewhere else because all of these decisions will impact what you decide on your dinner party menu. You can choose to pick up part of your dinner party food from an outside source like a bakery or catering service. Don’t forget about what you’ll serve your guests to drink as well. It’s smart to have non-alcoholic beverages available for dinner party guests who don’t want to drink alcohol at the party.
Focus on the Table Decor
A dinner party table should look inviting and delicious but also consistent with the idea of a dinner party. Many dinner parties have a preferred color scheme so it’s important to take time to decide on what colors you want to use and find decor that matches it. You can add candles to the table to help set the tone, or you can add themed elements such as a festive table runner.
Decide on Entertainment
As with any party, it’s good to have plans for entertaining your guests. You can have games set up for after the dinner is served whether it’s outdoor yard games or board games in the living room. You could even set up a karaoke machine or host a charades tournament. You can create a music playlist to play during the dinner party to help with the ambiance, and it might even be a conversation starter. Especially if you have guests coming who might not know everyone there, you should have a few conversation topics thought of ahead of time so everyone will get to know each other.
Don’t Forget about Invitations
Whether it’s a formal dinner party with printed invitations or an impromptu gathering with text invitations, every dinner party needs to have invitations. You can tell guests what time the dinner party is, the theme, where to RSVP, or if you need them to bring anything.
Try not to get too hung up on the details. Your guests will be happy to be there and will appreciate the effort you’ve put into planning a great vegan dinner party.
