Holidays
Make the Most of Quality Time with Friends and Family with These Hosting Tips and Recipes
With the holidays coming up, a lot of us will be spending plenty of time with friends and family. Have a read of our tips that can help you make the most of this quality time, including ideas for setting your table, plus delicious drinks recipes, to help you and your loved ones have the best celebrations possible.
There are so many things to consider with the holidays approaching. There are gifts to be bought, decorations to put up, and large dinners to prepare. For many, there is also the matter of hosting loved ones over the holidays and figuring out how to make the best of this quality time. Preparation for this can be stressful, but getting it right can make these moments the highlights of the holidays.
Keep reading as we offer a few pointers to help you put on a show for your guests, including making them feel welcome, acing your home and dining table décor, and providing delicious festive drinks. Once you have finished reading, you will be ready to leave your guests wishing you would host them every holiday season!
Why quality time with friends and family matters
The holidays are the perfect time of year to develop bonds with loved ones, which can provide considerable short and long-term benefits. Strengthening these social ties can help us cope with life’s stresses, make us feel more confident, improve our overall psychological and physical well-being, and can even help us live longer! And getting the following right can certainly help to strengthen these bonds.
Key elements to get right
- Create a good home atmosphere for your guests. If you are hosting over the holiday season, your home's presentation can set the tone for the whole day. Taking the time to ensure your home is tidy, well-decorated, and provides an uplifting environment can help your friends and family to be on a high from the moment they walk in. During the holidays, this may mean placing wreaths on your doors, pinecones in bowls, plenty of mistletoe around the house, or a well-decorated tree. Don’t forget to get the jingles on too for some music-induced ambience.
There is also the important matter, in our opinion, of properly setting your table up for the various big meals that take place during this time of year. Read a little more detail on how to ace this part of the party proceedings a little further down in the blog. < Link to the table setting section if possible.
- Greet your guests warmly. Like with the previous point, the greeting you give to your friends and family helps set the tone for the whole day and immediately communicates that you are pleased to see them. You don’t need to roll the red carpet out; just taking the initiative to greet someone first with a smile and eye contact while addressing them by their name can go a long way to making people feel welcome. A handshake or hug can add warmth to a greeting too, if it is appropriate for the person/people you are greeting.
- Put effort into your food and drink. Some of us love cooking. For others, it may be a bit of a chore. All that matters is that you do your best, and putting effort into the food and drink you serve to your friends and family communicates to them that you value them and want them to have a good time. To help you with the drinks portion of this, we have a list of mouth-watering drinks recipes for the holidays later on in the blog that will be perfect for serving up for friends and family during celebrations.
Setting your table for meals during the holidays
For many, the various meals they enjoy over the holidays are the highlights of the celebrations. With that in mind, it helps to ensure you create a table setting for your friends and family that is worthy of the occasion you’re celebrating. You can do this by:
- Getting the décor right. Adding touches like attractive centerpieces and accessories to your table can help your table setting stand out in style. During the holidays, the type of décor may a little different from meals at other times of the year, so do not be afraid to express yourself a little! As well as including the compulsory festive napkins, crackers, and table runners, you can help your dining table to dazzle with a candelabra, some scattered holly or other foliage, and maybe even some artificial snow dusting! You don’t have to only stick to decorating the table either; if you have space in your room to hang ornaments, you can fill your whole dining space with baubles and other small decorative pieces to create an extra fun atmosphere for everyone.
- Placing your tableware correctly for a special occasion. Meals over the festive period may include some fun extras compared to the usual meals, but the basics of setting your table correctly, such as cutlery, crockery, and glassware placement, still apply. This is the foundation for any attractive dining setup, which we can add to with quirky centerpieces and accessories! Check out our blog on preparing the perfect table setting for your guests to learn about the subject in a little more depth.
So there you have it; a few steps and ideas to help you give your friends and family a holiday season to remember. These tips will also help you with hosting guests year-round, so remember to check back next time you need to provide entertainment for your loved ones.
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