THE BEST TIPS FOR HOSTING IN A SMALL SPACE
It is that time of the year again. Your house or apartment is about to be descended upon by extended family and friends you haven’t seen in years. Your home is small and perfectly formed with a place for everything and a fluent design scheme. You normally only have dinner parties for a maximum of 6 people and even that is a squeeze. How are you going to cope when suddenly your dinner party for 6 becomes a feast for 12 or more? Below we have some tips to try and make things on you just a little bit easier.
FAIL TO PREPARE, PREPARE TO FAIL
You probably know this one already but it is just so important. Sufficient preparation beforehand can make the whole occasion so much less stressful for you, but also your guests. Trust us, when you are flustered they will know. Whatever can be prepped beforehand and warmed through at the right moment should be done days before. Granted it’s not possible to do everything in advance so make sure there are some decently strong cocktails ready-made on your coffee table or side table for each guest to sip whilst you finish off the rest.
KNOW YOUR LIMITS
We all love to be generous at times, and what’s one more person, right? That can be great up to a point. Whilst our hearts can grow and more food can always be cooked, your apartment is only so big and your guests need to be comfortable and not crammed together like sardines. If you are really clever you can end up using one space for two purposes with a converting console table. It’s a console table for a drinks reception and a dining table for dinner.
KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE
Like it or not a small house or apartment is going to be a squeeze, especially when you have filled it with perfectly matched furniture. The easiest way to reduce hosting stress is to invite people who know each other pretty well. Chances are they will be sitting pretty close together around your small but normally perfectly functional dining table.
TAKE INSPIRATION FROM A GOOD OLD FASHIONED PICNIC
You know what is usually more abundant in all homes? Floorspace. For some reason, when the sun is out and it’s warm outside we are all perfectly happy to sit on the floor and eat from a plate in our laps. It is one of our favourite things about summer. To that end then don’t get hung up on the size of your dining table or how many plates you can fit around it. Just because it’s cold and dark outside doesn’t mean the picnic can’t rule the roost. Ensure an abundance of soft squishy cushions and pillows and open-minded guests, and you will have a much more relaxed and serene time with everyone reclining on the floor.
So there you have it, a few ideas to make the holidays less stressful.
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