The Austere Dinner Party, Yes it can be done!
Welcome back!
I love to entertain in my home, and since the recent economic depression, many people believe that the days of doing dinner parties are over. I say, quite the contrary. I have hosted more dinner parties in the past 6 months than in the past year. When my husband and I wanted to get together with friends and family, we used to meet them out at a restaurant. Those days are long gone. The prices in restaurants just keep going up. Now the get together spot is usually in someone’s home.
Many think that entertaining is too expensive, but it is not if it is done correctly. There are plenty of inexpensive meals to serve at a dinner party. The one-pot dishes seem to be the least expensive to make. These can range from chili. to lasagna, to chicken in a wine sauce. If you are going to be having a dinner party, watch the sales fliers after you have planned a menu. Get you ingredients on sale. The beauty of a one pot meal is that in most cases, a loaf of french or Italian bread makes a great side dish, and is very inexpensive.
Whenever I entertain, I always try to put out finger foods before the dinner. I have found that this part of the meal tends to be the most expensive. When it comes to appetizers, I shop at stores like Aldi, for crackers and cheese and other tidbits. Keep in mind when buying this part of the meal that this is not meant to fill your guest, but only wet their appetite.
I also feel that depending on the guests that are coming, it is okay to ask a guest to bring something. I would not recommend asking someone that has never been over to your home before. The pot-luck dinner is back in a big way. A pot-luck, for those of you who don’t know is when each guest brings something do the dinner. I often ask guests that I know will be big alcohol drinkers to please bring a bottle of their favorite drink. I find that I save a lot of time and money this way.
As for setting my table, I set it based on the occasion, obviously. I have invested in some neutral colored cloth dinner napkins, which I bought on sale. I love my dinner napkins because they go with everything and they add a really nice touch. I also went to my local resale shop and purchased some inexpensive table cloths. I always keep my eye out for candle sticks when I go as well. I picked up a lovely pair of silver candle sticks at my local resale shop about two years ago, I use them constantly to entertain.
When it comes to setting a table, it can be done on a austere budget, but it doesn’t have to look like it. Use your imagination. Take for instance, I held a Christmas dinner and I did not have anything to decorate my coffee table with, so I cut a large piece of leftover wrapping paper into a funky shape and put that on my table and then put my hors d’oeuvres on top of it. It looked great!
Keep your dinner parties fun and relaxed, and people will want to come back. Just remember that a dinner party does not have to be super expensive. Dinner parties allow you to do what you want when you want, and you are not rushed like you can be in a restaurant. So, relax and enjoy!
