We eat first with our eyes, and many of us now remember with our phones. Hosting parties with this in mind requires creativity and effort that your guests will appreciate.
A fancy tablescape is a surefire way to get their cameras out and shooting.
Fortunately, inspiration is easier than ever to find. Open Instagram, type in #TablescapeDesign, and prepare to be deluged with examples presented by influencers like RachelRSimon, TheSpilledSugar, UneTableByTania and countless others. Many offer products, like theJoyfulDecorator, who would like you to purchase a curtain rod for dangling items over your table. Buyer beware!
This time of year, you’ll find images of inviting tables decked out with small, multi-colored gourds and rustic collections of fall leaves and acorns. If your theme is something other than holiday, you could scatter seashells, tie textured ribbons around colorful napkins, or drape solitary sprigs of herbs across each plate. Tiny pies or pastries might greet guests as pre-dinner treats. All things mini, from charcuterie boards to teacup-sized tambourines, are trending.
One thing you’ll notice in these sensational online settings is that over-the-top tablescape photos rarely include guests. Having people seated at these perfectly manicured tables would distract from the designer’s flex, you know. Social media provides fantastical imagery, but down-to-earth guidance can be found on podcasts and from experienced pros who regularly plan parties.
Nick Leighton, co-host and producer of the comically informative advice podcast “Were You Raised By Wolves?,” warns party hosts not to get carried away with table fillers. “Huge flower arrangements that make it impossible to see the people across from you? Slick napkins that slide off of everyone’s laps onto the floor? Votive candles that catch everyone’s cuffs on fire? All should be avoided!” He also cautions against scented candles, napkins tucked into glassware, and the use of anything that would devastate you if it were to be accidentally damaged.
Beloved entertainer and cookbook author Ina Garten hosts a podcast called “Be My Guest” in which Garten, celebrity chefs and others discuss recipes and entertainment ideas. Garten told actor Julia Louis-Dreyfus on a recent episode that a perfect dinner party supports conversation. “I just like six people around a round table — and a small round table, not a big one. I think the size of the table can just wreck a dinner party. I like when everybody’s — kind of like their knees are almost touching.”
Denver philanthropist Dr. Mary Rossick Kern has hosted countless parties, large and small, like the Western Fantasy Gala for Volunteers of America and the annual Colorado Symphony Gala, as well as homey family celebrations. She agrees that fomenting conversation is important, but her top concern is the menu.
Rossick Kern and her son Peter Lockley, a personal chef, recently co-hosted a small dinner party where the star of the show was a six-pound red snapper baked in a salt crust. “For me, food is first,” Rossick Kern said. “I was in ‘Downton Abbey’ mode. I did not require white tie, but I did pull out all the silver and decided to go for it. We did several courses. I don’t normally do big flowered things on a table or huge candelabras.”
Instead, Rossick Kern set a lovely arrangement of unscented flowers on a smaller side table with hors d’oeuvres. As the chef, Lockley enjoyed the challenge, “Mom’s idea was that we do this whole salt-baked snapper, an impressive dish in and of itself, take it to the table, break the crust and pull off the top layer of salt. We did that and everybody loved it.”
Leighton advises choosing tableware that won’t cause confusion, “If we’re not having soup, there’s no need to give everyone soup spoons.” In other words, think through the guest experience. Sit down at your table ahead of time and make sure eye contact with guests on the other side will be unobstructed, “Sight lines first, decor second. Keep arrangements very high and airy or very low.”
Lockley has seen decorations work well with buffets where multi-tiered stands provide space for serve-yourself food and eye-catching decor. Both Leighton and Rossick Kern agree that a printed menu is a nice touch. “People appreciate understanding the details of the meal,” said Rossick Kern, who also makes place cards with names, but does not insist on seating charts. Garten’s trick after decades of hosting parties is to seat the two most talkative people across from each other at the center of the table.
As a final touch, Rossick Kern has a tradition of decorating tables with items like pint-sized bags of candies or petite floral arrangements that guests can take home with them. This not only provides a thoughtful parting gift but also helps with cleanup.
Flexibility is a key ingredient for hosting any party, because inevitably the best laid plans can go awry. One mid-summer evening, Rossick Kern was preparing for a large outdoor party with an enchanting array of luminarias lining the gardens (short paper bags weighted with sand and small lit candles).
“Everything was set up, and at 5 p.m., the clouds rolled in and it was basically a monsoon for two hours. People arrived soaking wet. We had to move indoors, but we still had a great time. At about 7:30 the clouds rolled away and the sun peeked out. One lady said, ‘We’re Coloradans, let’s go outside!’ There were sad crumpled lumps of brown paper everywhere, but it was memorable, let’s put it that way.”