House Dinner Party Checklist

People who normally hold celebrations throw them in restaurants or hotels just to commemorate the occasion. But what if you are on a budget? Maybe you would try and reconsider holding your party elsewhere. For instance, you can always hold your party in your very own humble abode. Why not? For starters, it would be less costly on your part. Because when you book a dinner party at a certain restaurant, you are not only paying for the food, but you are also paying for the other incurred expenses such as the labor cost from the waiters, the ambiance from the restaurant, and others. You may also see checklist examples for students.

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We know that for one thing that you do not need extremely fancy food to satisfy the appetites of your hungry guests– all you really need is purely comfort food made from the heart and from your soul. Listed below is a chronological timeline along with a checklist that provides a list of requirements on what needs to be done to host an awesome dinner party. For more assistance in making a checklist, you may also see Examples of Checklists in PDF.

4 Weeks Before

1. Decide on a style, theme and type of cuisine for your dinner party. 

If you are the kind of host that likes to get creative with dinner parties, try and brainstorm a way that can keep your friends or guests amused throughout the entire night. There are some dinner parties that instantly turn into a mystery dinner theater wherein the guests partake in the mystery and suspense as part of their entertainment.  You may also see blank checklist examples & samples.

2. Confirm date and time. 

What is a party without a date and a time? If you are lucky enough, you might be able to invite all your friends or relatives on the spot without giving them prior information as to what it will be just to surprise them. But if not however, then you would just have to let them know in advance as to when and to the time the event will be.  You may also like quality checklist examples & samples.

3. Choose a location for the party home or at a restaurant or cafe. 

Location, location, location. If you are just hosting a regular dinner party, then someplace not too fancy would be OK. Heck, you can even have it in a restaurant in a mall so that you would have more things to do while you are there. Even a restaurant in a hotel would also be considered appropriate. 

4. Determine an affordable budget if hosting the party at your home. 

But then again, you always have to consider your budget. Unless your friends or relatives are planning to chip in, then you have no other choice but to host the party in your own home. If you happen to chance at an affordable restaurant knowing that they serve good food there, then by all means go for it if you happen to be too lazy to prepare the dishes. You may also check out to do checklist examples.

5. Generate a guest list with consideration of your budget. 

Your budget would obviously depend on the number of people you are willing to invite. For instance, you have a budget of $100. And an average dish would cost normally around $7. Try to think about as to how many dishes you would need to order or prepare to ensure that everyone leaves the room full and satisfied. But remember that in preparing home-cooked dishes, the simpler the better.  You might be interested in registry checklist examples & samples.

6. Develop a party action plan if hosting the party at home. 

What is the first thing you are going to do? What is the first thing you are going to prepare? What are the refreshments are you going to serve your guests? It is during this time that you prepare some sort of action plan for the party ahead so that you can keep track as to what you are going to do next. If you have more than just dinner planned, you might want to list that down too. 

3 Weeks Before

1. Invite your guests by telephone call or send an invitation.

Thanks to today’s technology, there are more ways to hand out your invitation than just via courier. For starters, you can always text or call your friends via mobile phone, to obtain instant feedback from them. However, if you are the formal and conventional kind of guy, you can always invite them through email. Handing out a formal invitation done through courier must only be done for very special occasions such as weddings. 

2. If hiring caterers, book their service. 

Caterers bring the restaurant to you, and not you going to the restaurant. With so many caterers and their food choices to choose from, you have to bear in mind that there are people who are allergic to some food choices and that there are people who might be lactose-intolerant or just simply dislike spicy food. As you book the catering service, make sure to ask everyone if they are fine with eating any kind of food being served. You may also see marketing checklist examples & samples.

3. Create a contingency plan to bring the party indoors just in case weather isn’t permitting (if you are having an outdoors party). 

Outdoor parties are simply amazing for the very fact that they are held outside. chill and grill parties, wine, some champagne, enjoy the fresh air and the night sky. But what if it it suddenly rains? What is going to be your backup plan? Do you have anything particular in mind? Not everything really goes according to plan for parties due to a number of controllable and uncontrollable factors. So make sure that you have a Plan B set up just in case it does not really push through. You may also like audit checklist examples & samples.

2 Weeks Before

1. Create a menu relevant to your theme. 

If your dinner party has a specific theme alongside a specific getup, it is only proper that you cook specific food choices in line with the theme of the party. If you think that certain food choice does not seem appropriate for the occasion, then try your best to remove that food choice and change it with something more suitable for the party. You may also see start-up business checklist examples.

2. Test the recipes you a planning to cook on the night. 

Do you want to end up serving inedible food to your guests because the dish was burnt or there was just too much salt in the dish? Whether you are a professional or not, you must always learn to taste your food first before doing the final procedures to the recipe. Otherwise, the food prepared would be all for nothing and you would need to start over. You may also like safety and security checklist examples.

3. Match wine(s) to the meal. 

For formal dinners, it is best served with wine since that is just purely classy. But try to understand that you cannot just pair that dish with this kind of wine. A distinction needs to be made since there are some wines that go great with this kind of dish. 

4. Consider the decor you will be using. 

How will be decorating the dining area for your guests? It is not every day that you get to invite guests for a formal dinner party. Sure you do not need to decorate, but it would be best if you actually did in regards to the theme. There is such a thing with being too plain with your decorations. Be creative and learn to add some color and vibrancy to the place. You may also check out checklist examples in word.

5. Clean any crystal, china, and silverware that you will be using. 

If you are hosting a big dinner party, there might be some silverware that might be sitting in the storage room that have not really been used for quite sometime. So make sure that you try to clean just the right amount of plates and silverware that will be used for the party. You don’t want to serve food in a dusty and a dirty plate, do you? You might be interested in maintenance checklist examples & samples.

6. Shop for a new dinner party set that matches your theme or any decoration accessories that you may require. 

There may be some things that you might want to buy in order to make the dinner party look absolutely perfect. 

7. Create a shopping list. 

This does not only apply to the food that you are going to buy for the party, but also for the decorative materials that you are going to need for the party. It is advisable to write it down since there is the tendency of forgetting to buy the said item the moment you reach the apartment store or grocery store. You may also see safety checklist examples & samples.

1 Week Before

1. Purchase items off the shopping list for food that can be pre-prepared, beverages for the night and other items that can be stored until the day of the dinner. 

If there are certain things that can be bought an prepared beforehand, by all means do so. After all, you do not want to end up being super busy on the day of the dinner, wouldn’t you?  You may also see cleaning checklist examples & samples.

2. Pre-prepare foods that can be frozen until the dinner party. 

Although in the culinary world, freshness is always considered the best, but there are just some days wherein you would need to compromise if you lack the time. 

3. Prepare your party clothes.

Deciding what to wear on the day seems to be a very big issue to a lot of people. Well, maybe it would actually depend on the kind of dinner party being thrown. If it is something that requires the guests to be formal, then that would explain why the struggle is real. But if it an event that just needs people to dress casually, then that would work too.  You may also like training checklist examples & samples.

4. Organize activities for the party. 

Sometimes, people would want to do more than just eat. They would want to do other things as well like play board games, or go swimming in the indoor pool, play truth or dare, or sing karaoke with some friends. So if you are up for it, you can always do impromptu activities with your friends after dinner. Who knows? Maybe they might be up for it too. 

5. Follow up with guests who are yet to RSVP. 

“Répondez s’il vous plaît” which is French for ‘Please respond’. There are guests who reply on time, but there are others who have not yet even given a response. If you know the number of people who are unsure as to whether they can go to your dinner party or not, make sure to confirm with them during this time so that they may be able to give you their final decision. You may also check out vehicle checklist examples & samples.

6. Create a seating plan if desired. 

Only if desired and needed. But other than that, it would be best to just let them it anywhere. After all, they are your friends. You don’t necessarily mind as to where they will be sitting. 

7. Finalize numbers and make reservations at the restaurant or cafe if you’re a having the dinner party outside of your home. 

But if you are having the dinner party at your home, make sure to prepare the right number of plates and silverware that you will be needing on the day. Make adjustments to the dinner area so that it can be able to accommodate everyone.  You might be interested in performance management checklist examples.

A Day Before

1. Go shopping for fresh food items and ingredients to recipes that a required for cooking on the day/night of the dinner party. 

As mentioned before, there are some food choices tat would have to be pre-prepared as to give you time to prepare the other food choices that have not been done yet. Cook and bake what needs to be cooked and baked on the day of the dinner. You may also see construction checklist examples.

2. Clean house and dinner party area. 

It is important to try and keep the place tidy for your guests. As mentioned before, you don’t always have guests every day. If your house happens to be a mess, try to make a first good impression of your house by cleaning the place up. If it cannot be helped, then try your best to apologize about it. 

3. Designate a place for coats. 

If you live in the States, then it is important to have some sort of coat rack for guests to hang their clothes obviously due to the climate and temperature change. For tropical countries, there’s really no need for that. You may also like hr checklist examples & samples.

4. If having the dinner party at a restaurant of cafe, confirm attendance with your guests. 

If your dinner party will not be held a home, then try to confirm the attendance with your guests or relatives. It is highly unlikely that everyone will show up. 

5. Prepare your clothes for the day – wash and iron. 

The day of your anticipated dinner party is almost here. Make sure that your dinner clothes are already set and ready to roll for the party later on. 

Day of the Dinner Party

1. Buy fresh flowers. 

What better way to liven the place up with some fresh flowers, right? Make this part of your finishing touches that you will include when getting ready to set up the place for your dinner party. Flowers are often considered a sign of life that brings happiness in the room. You may also check out checklist templates & examples.

2. Set table with linen, crockery, cutlery and glassware. 

Once all the preparations are in tact, it is high time that you started setting up the table with all the required plates, silverware and chinaware that the guests will be using. 

3. Set up stereo in a location where the dinner party table will be able to hear the music. 

Guests love to hear music. Restaurants play music to bring some life and gives it that sort of finesse to the premises. Make sure that when you are playing the music, do not try to make it so loud that it will deafen your guests. Test out how much loud your music needs to be to give it that perfect setting and backdrop. You might be interested in equipment checklist examples.

4. Quick check to make sure the house is clean. 

It does help to do one last check of the place to make sure it is in tip-top shape. There is a saying that no stone should be left unturned. So try and double check that your house is in order. You will never know that there are some spots that you might have missed. 

5. Check bathrooms for fresh towels/soap. 

Your guests will only access a certain part of your house. They will not exactly trespass or go to your room unless they allow you to. Make sure that there is still enough toiletries in the bathroom for your guests to use when they arrive. If you need to purchase some more to get them refilled, then do so. You may also check out resignation checklist examples & templates in pdf.

6. Start cooking meals in the afternoon that can be reheated later and still taste excellent. 

Cooking your final dishes in the afternoon is perfect. Whether it’s going to be in the early or late afternoon, that would depend on the gravity of the dish. It is best to try and estimate as to how long the dish will be ready. For dishes that are heavy like turkey or fish, they require a lot of time to prepare fresh. So give yourself that kind of time. You may also see printable checklist examples.

7. Give yourself an hour to get ready and relax with a glass of wine before your guests arrive. 

Just as the Lord made Sunday the Sabbath day for a reason, it is also important to give yourself a break after everything has been prepared. As you wait for the guests to arrive, use that time to relax and get dressed or even take a shower to make yourself look good and fresh. You may also like team meeting checklist examples.

8. Start music before first guest arrives. 

Cue the music! Or not. That’s really up to your discretion. So as long as you play the music, then that’s really no problem. There are guests who actually prefer the company of friends over listening to some tunes. 

9. Ensure that guests are introduced to one another. 

That would not be a problem if the guests are well-acquainted with each other. For instance, if your guest lists composes of purely workmates from the company you are working for, then that is not really a problem. But if it is a mix of guests say– some are from high school and some are your old-time friends, then proper introductions are in order.  You may also check out task checklist examples.

10. Enjoy your cooking and great company. 

It is time to enjoy the fruits of your labor! Delicious food is always enjoyed with the best of company, after all. 

11. Clean up once all guests have left.

Depending on what happens after dinner, you will either be burdened to clean the place heavily or not. Once you begin cleaning, make sure to bring with you a happy working song (Enchanted, anyone?)

This basically comprises of the things that you need to do in order to make your dinner party the best that it can be. You might be interested in investment checklist examples.