Dinner Party Do’s and Don’ts

We’ve finally come to a place where we can ease back into small social gatherings. As we transition, the word on the street is that intimate home gatherings are going to become the ‘Thing’ for the foreseeable future, with our restaurants limited to the services that they can provide.

Let’s discuss some little tips and socially acceptable do’s and don’ts when you are invited to one of these intimate gatherings. There are the regular rules your grandmother taught you, like no elbows on the table and no talking with food in your mouth. That’s what I call beginners etiquette usually taught to kids.  Rules every adult over 25 should already practice and be aware of.

I want to talk about the ones that are ooh so true but  are rarely discussed in public forum because some people find brutal honesty,  a bit ‘uncomfortable’.  Nevertheless we have to put these little nuances out there so that people can be conscious of them and we can all get along and have a fabulous time.

 

“Etiquette- Conventional requirements as to social behavior; proprieties of conduct as established in any class or community or for any occasion.”

-Dictionary.com

 

First things first… CELL PHONES

A dinner party is meant to be a small intimate gathering of friends or family sitting around the table together enjoying good food,  good conversation and good company. Yes there are some of you whose whole life is on that phone and I’m not judging you but the bottom line is that when you are at a dinner party, where the hostess has spent countless hours planning and decorating and pairing wines and finding the perfect combinations of flavors to entice the palette of each and every guest, its just down right RUDE to have your head in your phone all night.  Put your phone away! Take the time to smell the aroma, taste the flavors, feel the textures under your fingertips. Take in all those little details that the hostess has worked so hard to create. If you want to take pics of this fabulous meal and table setting be considerate and ask the hostess if its ok.

 

BE ON TIME

People please be on time, if for nothing else do it for the hostess. Again the perfect dinner party involves lots or organization. The hostess will have everything timed just perfect to allow her to be calm, cool and collected when guests arrive. When it comes to cooking timing plays a really big part in ensuring the dinner layout flows just right. When you show up late you ruin the party for EVERYONE else because #1 the hostess is going to be irritated to high heaven, #2 the food is either going to be over cooked or cold, #3 if you take to long to show up, she will start drinking the wine by herself and we don’t even wanna know how that ends…

If you are going to be even a little late call ahead and be completely honest about it. Accept that after ten-minutes grace period we WILL start dinner without you.

NO TAKE AWAY

This is NOT the Chinese buffet, you won’t be leaving with any extra food.  The hostess will cook enough food for one serving per person. Unless, the hostess offers you something to take away, just cool out ok. Do not go to the car and get your take out containers and foil. Totally inappropriate.

NO POLITICAL OR RELIGIOUS DEBATE AT THE TABLE

Nothing can ruin a good meal faster than a contentious debate! When it comes to politics and religion everybody has their own views and that’s fine. Then there are some people who are not comfortable talking about these subjects period. We don’t want to exclude anybody from the conversation at the dinner table.  During a delicious dinner the only debate we should be having is  which wine pairs better.

NO INDIAN GIVERS!

In case you don’t know what the term ‘Indian Giver’ means let me break it down for you. If you bring something to the dinner party, once it enters the party it is now under the ownership of the hostess, it is no longer yours. Let me give you the perfect example (this is one of my pet peeves), an Indian Giver is a person that will show up at a party with a bottle of wine supposedly for the hostess, but if at the end of the night that bottle of wine has not been opened, will go back into the fridge and take it when they leave. This is ABSOLUTELY out of order and the most inappropriate behavior. Don’t do it because you will definitley be talked about.

It’s a given that etiquette will vary from one culture to the next. When you are invited to one of these gatherings, it’s really considerate and nice of the guests to bring a small token of their appreciation for the hostess. It doesn’t have to be an expensive gift, it could be a simple thank you card or a gift card to their favorite home decor store.

As we enter back into what will be the new normal, due enjoy all of these intimate gathering with friends and family. It’s been a long couple of months and we’ve all got to be thankful for making it thru. Don’t forget to celebrate LIFE!