Entertaining Guests in Your Home

Hi. I’m Gina, and I’m going to be sharing with you today some tips to help your entertaining be more successful, more fun, more enjoyable, and definitely less stressful. For me, one of the things that helps so much is I like to plan and organize on lists. I like to create lists for what I need to do before the event, maybe one week before, a few days before, the day before, and then the day of. It sounds complex, but it really helps me to streamline and keep things simple and less overwhelming.

One week before, I like to decide on what the main course might be that I’ll serve that day. And I do try to remember to keep it simple. One thing that has totally become my friend is the slow-cooker. I love to utilize the slow-cooker, just throw in some meat and some vegetables and some spices and hit the power button, leave it—let it go for eight hours, and have a wonderful meal. Also, what I love now about slow-cookers is that you can buy these plastic liners that make cleanup so much easier than it used to be, so take advantage of that for just a couple of dollars.

Then a few days before the get-together, I might plan to clean up some areas of my house that have been nagging at me, and maybe do a little bit of organization. But also, I like to remember that it doesn’t need to be perfect. It’s okay to have some areas of the house that I keep the door closed to certain rooms and make those off-limits for the get-together.

When I do my shopping the week or a few days before, I’ll actually make sure that I purchase paper plates and cups. Sometimes, some disposable utensils, that will definitely make cleanup so much easier. Also, the day before, I make sure that serving dishes are located, and if they were in a hard-to-reach place, I’ll have—ask somebody to get those for me. And then, the day before, I’ll have my own outfit all ready to go, and make sure that it’s clean and that it’s comfortable. I definitely want to be comfortable during the get-together.

And the day of, I want to make sure that I take it easy, that I take care of myself, and that I drink plenty and rest up and save my energy and my legs for the fun. I don’t want to waste up and definitely not feel my best during the get-together. So, asking others for help is always recommended. When people ask me what they could bring or how they could contribute, I’ll say, “You know, that would be awesome. I’d love for you to bring a dish.” And when I have a menu with some ideas of side dishes, it makes it easy for me to figure out what they’d like to bring.

And then, last but not least, be sure and talk to your doctor.

These are just some of the tips that I use to help make my entertaining easier. Talk to your doctor about some ways that maybe you can look for other ideas that can help you to have a great time getting together with your family and friends.