Top 5 holiday hosting don'ts

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A lot goes into hosting a great party. Since the holiday season is here, we know you'll be doing more than your share of party planning, so we thought we'd share some of the biggest hosting don'ts we could think of. Make sure your seasonal soirees are a success by avoiding these five festivity no-nos.

Don’t apologize for the food

The worst thing you can do before serving meal is to apologize for it. Guests don’t need to know you had to substitute a certain ingredient or you made some tweaks to the recipe. Don’t tell them they’re not going to like it before they even get a chance to taste it. We understand that cooking for a large group can be tricky, but apologizing for what you’re about to serve makes guests feel awkward. If you don’t think your dish is up to a certain standard, that’s your opinion, and something that should be kept to yourself. Let guests enjoy their meal without someone telling them that what they’re eating could be better.

Don’t stay behind the scenes

As tempting as it may be to man the stove and stay close to the kitchen to tidy as you go or prep anything that hasn’t been done in advance, it’s your party, so you should be with your guests. If you don’t mix and mingle, you have two problems:

1. You won’t have any fun. Hanging out in the kitchen while everyone else is enjoying themselves doesn’t sound very festive to us.
2. You won’t know if people are having a good time. The only way to make sure guests are comfortable, happy and have everything they need is to be part of the proceedings.

Don’t fight with your spouse

Hosting can be stressful, and we all have disagreements with loved ones, but avoid bringing your disagreements to the dinner table. Your guests don’t need to see you and your spouse arguing about who burnt the roast vegetables or why the upstairs bathroom didn’t get cleaned. Keep your arguments to yourself while you have a houseful of guests. You’ll just make them uncomfortable and likely dampen the mood of the party.

Don’t be a show-off

The wine you’re serving might have cost more than your entire outfit but there’s no need to brag about it. Treating guests to something special, be it a liquor, cut of meat, decadent dessert or the aforementioned bottle of wine should be just that – a treat, and not an excuse to show off and wave around a price tag. It’s tacky and makes you seem like you’re trying to create a competition out of who can spend the most on their dinner party. Just let your guests enjoy themselves – without telling them how much their last mouthful cost.

Don’t pressure anyone

If someone doesn’t want dessert or a second helping or another cocktail, that’s OK. If might be acceptable for your grandmother to push food and drinks on people even when they’ve declined 13 times, but she’s from a different era and won’t take no for an answer anyway. As a good hostess you need to respect people’s wishes and avoid putting them on the spot if they turn something down.

More holiday tips & trends

Money- and time-saving holiday shopping tips
Top tips for having a greener Christmas this year
Teaching compassion through the holidays

18 Dec, 2011

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Source: http://www.sheknows.com/holidays-and-seasons/articles/849973/top-5-holiday-hosting-donts
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