5 Ways to be a Gracious Host and a Great GuestNow that
hot weather is finally here, we are looking forward to long, lazy days on beach and hot summer nights that heat up after dark. Here are a few tips from lifestyle guru Kim Kristofferson-Magnusson on maximizing your fun in sun!
1) For family celebrations…KEEP IT SIMPLE!!
Whether you’re hosting a graduation party for 20 or a family reunion for 200, remember that it’s your day to have fun too! To make most of your time visiting with family and friends, take a vacation from your oven and corral your “grillmaster” of choice out on patio. Prepare a variety of cold salads ahead of time, pick up some fresh bread, add a frozen dessert, and voila… dinner is served! A buffet-style offering is wonderful outdoors, just roll up flatware in festive napkins, stack up some bright and shiny plastic plates, and all your guests can easily serve themselves.
2) When you’re guest…get in “Theme” of it!
If you have a much-anticipated invite to THE party of season, don’t show up empty-handed… if party has a particular theme (most of SUPER-FUN ones do!), bring host/hostess a little something that shows you appreciate all their efforts and planning. For example, if your host is a poker-aficionado planning a “Casino Night”, try filling an ice bucket with playing cards, dice, poker chips, shot glasses, and poker themed cocktail napkins. If your hostess is a pampered princess who is hosting a “Girls Night Out” (who, me??), she will love you forever if you fill an oversized basket with some bath salts, perfume samples, delicious smelling body lotion, a steamy novel, and an eye mask…just go extra mile, and your invite will be first to go out next year!
