Happy Monday! I’m here with Holly and the Not Just a Mom ladies. We had a great weekend but I’m sharing some things I’m looking forward to today. I hope you’ll link up with us for Hello Monday!
The Not Just a Mom topic for October is all about how you host. I love hosting friends and family! I have a little gathering planned in a few weeks and I’ve already started planning.
I learned a lot about being a good host from my mom. She is a fantastic host!!
Before hosting, my mom always starts with a list. She uses a steno pad and always has. I most definitely start with a list, too. Lists keep me on track and help me make sure I don’t forget anything!
The number one thing I do that my mom does is always, always make way too much food! Whether I am having my parents over for dinner or 50 people over, there are always tons of leftovers. I’d rather eat party food for days than come close to running out.
I tend to be a procrastinator, but my mom is not! She starts preparing days in advance. She always sets a beautiful table and she loves doing it. I also enjoy setting a table ahead of time. It gets me excited for the actual event! When my mom sets a table, she usually puts sticky notes in each dish so there is a dish for everything. I find that I do the same thing. It is super helpful to make sure you have all the dishes you need and it makes it easy for people to help get hot or cold food out at the last minute.
I love a theme! Sometimes it’s a color theme, sometimes it’s a holiday, and sometimes its based on a book or event. Any way it comes, I love a theme! I pick dishes and paper products to match the themes. It’s so fun!
When it comes to food, I rarely make a full meal. I think it is a little stressful to have all parts of a meal hot and ready at the same time. My mom is great at this, but I haven’t seemed to pick up this skill yet. I feel really good about making dips and desserts, so I tend to stick with them. When I plan my menu, I always consider any dietary needs/restrictions and preferences. After I have the menu planned, I pick some fun drinks to go with the food.
Before I host any group, I try to think about how I want the time to go. I’ll think of possible games or conversation starters. I think about the timing of the event. I am learning to make a list for this too. I’ve been known to forget something I was hoping to do towards the end of the event because I’m having too much fun with everyone.
Well, I’m getting excited to do some hosting in the next few weeks! I can’t wait to read some fun tips for hosting today. I’ll be back tomorrow with some fun from our weekend! Have a great day full of sunshine and books!
Love the idea of the sticky notes on plates- very smart- I love hosting too 🙂
i love the idea of setting the table and making sure there is a dish for everything. We are usually scrambling at the last minute to find a dish or platter for everything
I love that you shared all you learned from your mom. That’s so sweet. I love the sticky note idea. I’d forgotten that I’ve done that on bigger occasions like Easter or birthdays. Thanks for linking up with us!
I use sticky notes for dishes too; it helps so much when it’s time to set out the food and that way I know it’s clean too as so much of our serving platters are out as decor items in our kitchen year round and they can get pretty dusty!
These are such great tips. I also put sticky notes on the dishes. Have a wonderful week.
I bet you are a WONDERFUL host! Your get-togethers look like a lot of fun. I love that you get your hosting skills from your mom, so sweet!
Sounds like your sweet mum passed down some really good hosting tips to you. I always make way too much food but I totally agree that it’s so much better to have more food than not enough. My family love to eat leftovers too so that’s a bonus.