More 1st dinner party help

Mrs.McGuire

I thank you ladies all for the wonderful advice in a PP. I have my guest list and we've decided that for our first dinner party, we're going to do a fall foods pot luck, and we're going to provide the beer and wine along with a dessert or two. LOL not really a Thanksgiving dinner, but it almost sounds like it, huh?!

 I guess what we have to decide now is do we do a sit down style dinner or do we do things a little more casual and sit at the table we have or at the couches and/ or stand? I am not too sure. Thoughts? Ideas?

 Again, thanks so much for all the suggestions and ideas you throw my way!

kimnelson09

I think the fact that you're calling it a "dinner party" suggests that there will be seating for everyone.  I would hate to try and balance food while trying to stand. 

Whether you want to do formal seating complete with place cards...I think that you can skip that with a potluck.  But, yeah, seating is a must. 

Another thought, don't ask your guests to "just bring whatever" or you'll end up with mass chaos. 

martinilove

Well, if it's a "dinner party" then that implies it will be a little more of a formal event than just having friends over to watch a game/movie/etc.  You should definitely have dinner at the table and then if you want to later migrate into other areas of the house to relax, then that's fine.

6fsn

Make sure people have seating of some sort.  Potluck implies an informal get together not a dinner party.  If you have a table that everyone can sit at definitely set the table.  If not, I'd just call it a party and let people sit wherever.

HockeyWife2be

I think it's strange that, as the host of the potluck, you aren't providing the main course, but maybe I'm in the minority.

Ditto the pp who said to make sure to give your guests direction and don't just tell them to "bring whatever".  You'll end up with various chips and dips and no real meal.

lsgarver

I'd prepare for a seated meal.  Potluck implies casual, dinner party implies everyone sits around a big table.  Set the table, pick a casual fall-themed tablecloth (I like Homegoods for cheap ones) and have real napkins to coordinate.  Stick a pumpkin or a bouquet of mums in the middle and I think you have a great, casual atmosphere for cheap. 

I agree with pp that you should think about providing the main dish.  It keeps people grounded in what they bring and, honestly, people bring sides, snacks and dessert to potlucks.  Something as simple as bratwursts, meatball sandwiches, pulled chicken, vegetable lasagna or a roasted post tenderloin would be great and could easily be put in a crockpot, oven or on the grill for easy prep.

And DEFINITELY give people some direction in terms of what to bring.  Assign each person appetizer/snack, salad, vegetable, starch or dessert.  This is the best way to ensure a complete meal and avoid get 5 bags of chip and 3 plates of brownies.

Good luck!

CarlaAndJames

I agree, a potluck dinner party is casual, but still requires seating.

The easiest way to do this, IMO, is to the have a table set up as a buffet where all the food will be placed, and let everyone fill their own plate.

the other option would be to do it family style, and have everyone pass each dish around, but depending on how many dishes you have, that can get crazy and take up a ton of room on the middle of the table!

I also agree that it's good for people to have some direction on what to bring. If you don't feel comfortable assigning, we've used evite or luckypotluck.com to have everyone RSVP and sign up for what they're bringing. Everyone else can see what you sign up for, so its kind of first come first serve, so you don't get 5 desserts and no sides

Mrs.McGuire

Hello everyone. Thanks for the great feedback. DH and I do not have a table that seats more than two, so this means we'll have to rent one or find one from a friend accompanied with some chairs. But that's perfectly fine. It will be FUN! I have some fabulous fall table decor (Fall is my favorite season, yeah!) so that is taken care of. DH and I are both vegetarians so we're not sure what to fix for the main course, but we are assuming the responsibility on that one- which I did forget to mention in the post. All our guests are close friends, and we communicate well so I am not too worried- but I have requested certain types of items from people so we don't get stuck eating one gigantic massive pot of corn along side potato salad. I learned my lesson well on a poorly planned party in May of 2009.   aye aye aye. I think we actually had SIX bowls of the SAME pasta salad! eek!

Anyhow, I'll keep ya posted on progress and how things went the day of. Thanks SO much for everything and helping me make this a success!

CarlaAndJames

Good luck!

On the table thing - when we first got married we bought some cheapish folding tables (kind of like these - http://www.walmart.com/ip/Cosco-6-Foot-Long-Center-Fold-Table/13269097) and we've used them a ton. You can put two together to make a big square table. Once you've got tablecloths on them, they look just fine!

lsgarver

CarlaAndJames:

Good luck!

On the table thing - when we first got married we bought some cheapish folding tables (kind of like these - http://www.walmart.com/ip/Cosco-6-Foot-Long-Center-Fold-Table/13269097) and we've used them a ton. You can put two together to make a big square table. Once you've got tablecloths on them, they look just fine!

We purchased one of these on a whim as a kids' table for our first BBQ and we've used it for every party we've had since.  It extends our dining table to seat 12, serves as a buffet table or a gift display table, an activity table, a kids' table or is easily transported to the basement when we want to entertain with the TV.  It folds up to fit flatly inside a closet.  It's a little thin so sometimes placemats overlap or I can't fit the same centerpiece on it and the dining table but it's been a really terrific thing to have on hand.