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It’s all about the atmosphere. That’s what your guests will remember.

Small, private dinner invitations are the trend. Five tips for hosts to create an atmosphere in which guests feel comfortable.

Atmosphere is mandatory. The food only the freestyle.

For most of us, it’s not possible to whip up a meal like the ones served in a good restaurant —unless we order a takeout meal or hire a professional chef. The food isn’t the key to success at a private gathering.

Whether it was a pasta dish or a five-course meal, whether the fish was overcooked or the grilled sausages were burnt—it’s all forgotten by the next day.

What remains in the memory, however, is the atmosphere of the evening.

5 tips for attentive hosts

1 The prelude

Perfectionists never finish. And not infrequently, a bowl frantically lands on the kitchen floor at the exact moment the doorbell rings. But no matter how far behind your schedule you are:

The moment guests enter your home, one hundred percent presence is required.

Don’t send your dog or the kids ahead to greet guests, but beamingly make your guests feel welcome, even at the risk of just burning something in the kitchen.

If this moment is not successful, you start with a backlog that cannot be made up.

Your guests may also have had a stressful day, flown over the freeway, or had to deal with a defeat.

An aperitif helps guests and hosts relax. Here, too, it doesn’t really matter what you serve: whether it’s lemonade, martinis, a Negroni, or a cup of sake.

It’s important to be well prepared for this part of the evening. The glasses should be clinked shortly after the guests arrive, and alcoholic drinks should always be accompanied by a small snack so the alcohol doesn’t take effect too quickly.

We have experienced invitations where the aperitif suddenly became the main course and the rest was almost completely cancelled. They were unforgettable evenings with good conversations.

For the sake of simplicity, we recommend champagne as an aperitif.

3 The flatterers

Candlelight is always magical. No one can resist the magic of burning candles. Depending on the size of your apartment or house, you might use 1, 10, or 100 candles. Here, too, the number isn’t what matters. But one candle too few is still one candle too few.

Music creates illusions: The small one-room apartment becomes Speak-Easy with the right music in the background. The basement becomes a private concert space, reminiscent of a concert in a palace in Venice.

Chances are, there isn’t a food truck in your courtyard. That’s why cloth napkins are an important part of the atmosphere. The simple rule: paper napkins outdoors; linen, damask, or cotton napkins under the roof.

See Also

SERVE CHAMPAGNE

5 Focus from start to finish

In the Kunstkammer of the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna, which we recommend to every visitor to the city, you can see table centerpieces in which a small fortune was invested in earlier centuries:

Frigates recreated in silver, whose miniature cannonballs could be fired at guests sitting across the table when boredom set in, and elaborate tiered stands with gold inlays that shone particularly magnificently by candlelight.

A magnificent table centerpiece was a must in earlier times. Not without reason: If it is successful and/or extravagant, it may become the talk of the table and remain in memory.

Here it is worth investing in modern or traditional design, depending on your taste. The more individual, the better. If you like parrots, stop by Meissen.

You can serve even a plain pizza with these 5 atmospheric stylistic devices. No one expects you to eat at the level of a Michelin restaurant. Your guests will enjoy the evening at your home.

P.S.:

And if you’re planning a big party at home and are a little out of practice, we’ve got just the thing for you: the GloriousMe Party Countdown.