Being a Good Host/Hostess Part 3: Easy Entertaining

Now you know you don’t need to be perfect to be a good host or hostess , and you have taken 3 easy steps to plan your meal. Let’s all take a deep breath because you don’t have to do all the work by yourself.

When you entertain, feel free to enlist your family or guests to help. In Southern culture when you are invited, to party it is customary to offer to bring something. Remember as the host, you are doing most of the work, so feel free to take your guest up on their offer. I usually tell my guest what I am planning to make for the main course and ask if they would prefer to bring a salad, bread, or dessert. Give them choices. You guest will feel more comfortable with choosing options and you ensure that they will choose something they like to eat and something that suites their cooking ability.

Also, don’t forget about the store. I like to use things from the store to make cooking and hosting easier. 

• Pick up something pre-made, ready-to-assemble, or take shortcuts. 
• For example, pick up some fresh fruits and vegetables with dip for an easy, ready-to-assemble appetizer. 
• For a shortcut, have your butcher cut your meat to save you time on the main course. 
• Pick up an idea or actual salad from the pre-made, ready-to-assemble salads in the produce section of your grocery store. 
• If baking is not your specialty, pick up a dessert or ice cream.

I hope this simple approach helps enable you to be a better planner, takes any fear away from entertaining, and encourages you to host more.  It doesn’t need to be perfect to be fun! So be authentic, enlist help, and invite someone over for dinner!

For more on being a better host/hostess see part 1 and part 2. Also, stay tuned for some ideas for easy appetizers, simple sides, dreamy desserts, and real menus you can use for your next party.

For more recipes, encouragement, and tips for healthy eating, follow RDtipoftheday on Pinterest, Instagram, and Twitter. Or, you can subscribe to this blog, RDtipoftheday.blogspot.com, through BlogLovin, which is a free app that automatically updates every time a I publish a new blog post.