7 TIPS ON HOSTING A SUCCESSFUL HOLIDAY DINNER | 2021 |

Hi guys and welcome back to my channel. If you are new, welcome. My name is Hannah and I'm the mom of muscle and in today's video we are going to be discussing best practices for hosting a family gathering or a Thanksgiving or Christmas gathering for that matter. So if this is something that you are interested in watching, just keep on watching. But if you have not already though, be sure to like, comment and subscribe. Make sure to hit that bell button for every time I upload a video. And if you are not already following me on Instagram, I would love to have you over at mom of muscle. Without further ado, let's get into this video. So as a side note, I've hosted multiple Thanksgiving here in my home between my family and my husband's family. We've had a dinner of 30 plus people. On top of I have hosted multiple Friendsgivings when I used to work for Lululemon of 40 plus people on top of I also do wedding and special event planning business on the side. So I have kind of composed a small list of different kind of tips and tricks. If you are going to be hosting for the holiday season, I again, I have composed a small list of different takeaways that I have learned over my years of hosting these type of dinners as well as different takeaways from just being in the business. So let's get into this video. So the first little tip is having an activity station for kids. Even if you maybe don't have children, but you are anticipating families that have kids, having an activity station set up is super, super important as well. It shows that you took the time to accommodate the families that have children. Now these activity stations could have coloring books, they could have games, they could have arts and crafts. I mean, you guys could go to even just the 99 cent store and pick out some different things for kids to be for kids to just stay busy. I will post some pictures of some ideas for those who are needing some inspiration for activities for kids that are going to be joining you guys at your dinner table. But like I said, it just shows that you went that extra mile to make sure to accommodate the families that have kids. So that is tip number one for you guys. Tip number two is introductions. Be sure to introduce your guests. Not everybody that is going to come to your gathering might not know everybody. So by introducing everybody as well as maybe pairing up people that have common interests. So take Becky and Sarah for example, if they both enjoy hiking, maybe you can kind of stem a conversation that way. That way it is an authentic conversation and that way those people don't feel uncomfortable and awkward. You're kind of setting the tone and getting your guests to engage with one another if they maybe don't know each other from the get go. So that is a very, very important tip when you are hosting an event is just getting that conversation going, making sure introductions are happening and that way you can sit back and not stress about if are people having fun, the conversation is just rolling genuinely. So that is tip number two for you guys. Tip number three is making sure you are stocked on the bar section, making sure your beverages are stocked. There is nothing more embarrassing than running out of beverages. Be sure to accommodate not only children, so non-alcoholic beverages, juices, but the alcoholic beverage. And as a side note, I am always about having that attention to detail when I am throwing gatherings. I think having some sort of signature type drink when people come is a really, really just a very chef's kiss moment. It just shows that you took a little bit more extra time to come up with a specialty drink for everybody and I would make sure that it is non-alcoholic, but a drink that would taste good if someone did want to spike it with an alcoholic beverage. So having your bar stocked, having those juices stocked is very important when hosting a gathering. And again, if you can come up with some sort of signature drink for people, it just shows that you just took a little bit more time to put something together for your guests. And you guys can go on Pinterest. They have beautiful, aesthetically pleasing, and really tasty holiday drinks coming into the season. So make sure to check out Pinterest for some inspiration for that aspect. So that is the next item on my list. Tip number four is place cards. I cannot tell you, working in the wedding industry, the amount of times that bride and grooms maybe don't want place cards or they don't want a table chart. They're just like, it's a free for all. People can pick where they want to sit. Now what I've learned is people love direction. People don't want to have to figure out where they want to sit. Not everybody at weddings, not everybody at family gatherings are going to know one another. So by having that set up, having a station or having a place card for where that person is going to sit is so much better than having this awkwardness of like, well, where do I sit? Where do you want to sit? I don't know. And it just creates a very uncomfortableness for people. And I'm probably going to say uncomfortableness a lot, so I apologize in advance. But having a place card is super, super important. Now another reason why I would suggest a place card is it allows for you to pick where you want people to sit. Now, if there's maybe family dynamics that don't mesh well, maybe Susan and Karen can't be together. So by having them at opposite ends of the table, that allows for, again, not awkwardness, not uncomfortableness. You're having that separation. So by you picking where they sit is a lot better. You can also pick who you want to be together based on common interests, easy conversation, et cetera, et cetera. And another reason why I really enjoy place cards is it's a great way to have that attention to detail for your tablescape. One year I did pumpkins with the name attached to the stem. Another year I paid for a Etsy shop to hand carve everybody's name that I placed on the napkin. So it just kind of adds that extra little notch to a table setting, and it makes a very beautiful tablescape. So that's kind of another tip for you guys is always making sure you have some sort of place card on the table to allow for easy direction, easy flow of the evening, as well as it adds to the decor of your table. So that is the next tip on this list. The next tip is very simple, and a lot of people kind of skip over this, is just making sure your bathroom is stocked, making sure it has toilet paper, it has fresh towels in there. I have been to multiple gatherings where they run out of toilet paper and there's nothing underneath the sink, and you're going, okay, what do I do? It just creates this less thing that you have to worry about throughout the evening. You don't have to worry about is the bathroom stocked, is someone going to run out of toilet paper? I have a really cute little basket in my powder bath that I just have a bunch of different toilet paper rolls in there. It's ready to go, just takes the worrying out of it. So just making sure your bathroom is stocked with toilet paper and towels for the evening. So that is the next tip on my list. The next tip is making sure you have a timeline. Now you need to have some sort of flow throughout the evening, whether you know what time you want to have dinner, what time you want to have dessert, what time people are arriving, so on and so forth. That way there is a nice, genuine flow throughout the evening instead of like, okay, what are we doing? Especially when you are throwing a Thanksgiving dinner or a holiday dinner, it is very much a timings game when you're baking a turkey, when you have all these different sides. You need to know when the turkey's going to be out, when the items need to be served so they're not cold. So having some sort of flow throughout the evening is very, very important when you're hosting a dinner. This also allows for gauging the mood of your guests. Are people getting hungry? Are they ready to sit down for dinner? Are they enjoying themselves? Can we push the dinner back a little bit because conversation is, everybody's enjoying themselves. Conversation is happening. So again, having that timeline is really important to make sure there is a good flow throughout the evening and that is the next tip on this list. And the seventh and final tip of my kind of entertaining 101 is making sure you are having fun. I understand hosting an event, hosting a dinner can be very stressful. Like I said, I've had my fair share of that and you're wondering if people are having fun. Is everybody getting along? Are people enjoying themselves? Is there toilet paper? Did I pick up this? Is the kids having fun? I understand all the thoughts that go into having an event. Plus you have opened your home to people. People are sitting on your items, whatnot. I understand it creates stress but when you are stressed out, your guests are going to feel that stress. So you need to be making sure that you are having fun. Just remember that you could have the cleaner come over tomorrow, enjoy the evening, enjoy conversation with your guests because the night is going to go very quickly and if they can sense that you are having some stress, it's going to create more uncomfortableness and more awkwardness throughout the evening. So just make sure that you are enjoying yourself as well because you're hosting this event, you have opened up your home, it is very important that you yourself are enjoying the evening. So that is going to be kind of the last and final tip for entertaining for the holiday season. Sway, sway. Bebe girl, mom is trying to record. So that is it for today's video. I hope you guys enjoyed. Like I said, I have done my fair share of hosting and I figured with holidays coming up, with these big dinners coming up, these are some takeaways that I have learned throughout the years and they have helped me tremendously when throwing a successful dinner party. So hopefully you guys got some inspiration. Good luck to anybody who is hosting this year, who is opening their home to family and friends. And I cannot believe it, you guys, we are in November. It is almost Thanksgiving. I saw something the other day, it was like seven weeks until Christmas. I'm like mind blown. Like where on earth did this year go? Seriously. I know everybody's probably thinking the same thing. I got to get on my shopping. But anyways, that is it for today's video. As a side note, I'm going to be bringing a ton of holiday inspired videos coming into the months of November and December. So be sure to be tuned into my channel for that. I'm super excited to do some decorates with me, some shop with me's, some tips and tricks, gift giving guides. I'm all for it. I love the holidays and I'm sure you guys do too. But that is it, you guys. I love you so much and I will see you guys in my next video. Peace. Say hi, YouTube. Say hi. He's so big. Say hi.