How to Plan a Dinner Party for 50

When holding a party for a large group, good planning is always the key.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Party Supplies
• Invitations
• Party Planners
• Party Decorations
• Party Food

1. Choose a date for your event. If you plan to honor any special guests - or there are guests on your list whose presence you particularly desire - make sure the date is convenient for them.

2. Evaluate your space. Be sure you have enough table space and chairs in your home or reserve a space for the party elsewhere. If you have the party somewhere else, decide how you will provide the food (catered, picnic-style, using a rented hall's kitchen, and so on).

3. Decide on your budget. Large dinner parties needn't be expensive: with a little ingenuity you can make a meal for very little money. Make your own decorations instead of ordering expensive flowers. Consider a potluck, a picnic, or other alternatives to a sit-down dinner.

4. Choose a theme or plan table centerpieces and a color scheme.

5. Make sure you have enough place settings, serving bowls and platters, serving utensils and other needed items. Borrow or rent these items if necessary.

6. Extend invitations, either by phone or written invitation. Give clear RSVP instructions.

7. Finalize your guest list by following up on guests who do not RSVP.

8. Make all the arrangements for any space rental, entertainment (such as a band or DJ), catering, other hired help (such as cleanup staff), photographer, flowers, or other large expenses and commitments at least two weeks before the event.

9. Prepare a timetable for all other tasks, leaving as little as possible for the day of the event. Include space in your timetable for things that might go wrong.

10. If you're cooking, plan each dish and make an appropriate shopping list. (See "How to Cook Dinner for 50" for tips on cooking.)

Tips & Warnings

• Be sure to let your guests know about appropriate attire for the evening.
• If you have a potluck, have guests sign up to bring different types of food (dessert, main dish, salad, side dish, drinks), or assign them a category - you don't want to end up with 50 batches of brownies.
• If dinner seems overwhelming, consider having a dessert party, tea party, or cocktail party instead of dinner.

[veroslist]

on 5/14/2009 Event Premiere catered our luncheon to perfection. They helped us find the venue, while also making sure our needs were met. The event was a great success.I highly recommend Event Premiere for any future event.Claire

[lezsays]

on 4/5/2009 Very helpful tips!rrc

[grapegirls]

on 3/13/2009 We routinely plan large dinner parties and wine tasting events. Cut down on the stress for your self and hire people like us, we do it for a living and can provide even more tips and cost-cutting methods throughout the entire planning process! That way you can just concentrate on being the hostest-with-the-mostest! :)

[eventplangirl]

on 9/11/2008 If its too stressful to plan your own party, try hiring an event planner...many event planners dont charge you extra for their services, but instead get a comission from the venue, caterers, etc. so it can be really bebneficial and save you a lot of time and energy. You can still be really involved with the planner, too, with decorations, food, etc. Im speaking from experience, I used Event Premiere, event planners in New York...check out their site : Eventpremiere.com for event/pary planning in NYC. they were really helpful and did an awesome job. just throwing it out there...

on 6/30/2006 Make sure your guests do not get bored at your party. To do so, you must simply put on the appropriate music (low volume) and keep the conversations rolling. When the time is right, launch the main reason for this gathering. And don't force your guests to leave when time is up, simply signal to them that you have to go. If that doesn't work, then call your cell phone and pretend that it's some thing important. They will get the picture then.