Everyone tends to think of romantic dinners for two when it comes to Valentine’s Day. But getting together with a group of couples can also be a wonderful way to enjoy the holiday. Here are some simple tips for hosting a Valentine’s Dinner Party!
- Make it as easy on yourself as you can. Send out e-vites instead of snail mail invitations. Evite.com has lots of free invitation templates and even lets you attach a map to your house. Type up the party details, add your guest list, click and send. You’re done!
- Six couples make for a great dinner party. It’s not too many people to become unwieldy, yet big enough to allow for lots of conversation. If you have room, consider dragging your kitchen table into the dining room and placing it end to end with your dining room table. Matching tablecloths will give a uniform look and then all the couples can sit together. To accommodate this in my home, we had to use a measuring tape and try various configurations before we found one that worked. In the end, it was well worth the extra trouble.
- I didn’t have enough china for 12 people, so I used two sets of dishes, staggering the place settings every other person. To pull it all together, place a red, heart-shaped doily on each plate.
- A simple meal that keeps you out of the kitchen and mingling with your guests is best. Lasagna is festive (and red!) and can be made the day ahead and popped into the oven before the party. Add a tossed salad and garlic bread and you’ve got a winning combination.
- Purchase store-bought desserts from the frozen section. For my Valentine’s dinner party, I found French Silk Pie and plain cheesecake, both on sale the week before Valentine’s Day. I added some cherry pie filling to the cheesecake and voila! We enjoyed a delicious dessert that took no time at all to prepare.
- As an added touch, dip some strawberries in melted chocolate. Serve them on trays for guests to help themselves while you are plating dessert.
- After dinner, challenge your guests to a Valentine’s quiz, “a la Newlywed Game.” You’ll all have fun laughing as husbands and wives attempt to guess what their partner is thinking, and you’ll learn more about each other in the process.
About Molly Evert
Writer Molly Evert is a wife and homeschooling mom to 6 kids, who range in age from 2 to 18. She runs an educational website, My Audio School (http://www.myaudioschool.com), providing access to the best in children's audio literature. She also blogs at CounterCultural Mom (http://www.counterculturalmom.com) and CounterCultural School (http://www.counterculturalschool.com).
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