There’s no need to fear Dinner Parties – with a little planning, you can enjoy Stress Free Dinner Parties.

Having friends over for dinner doesn’t have to be terrifying; all you need is a treasure map leading you from chaos to calm.

Alexandria Blaelock provides such a map in Ms Blaelock’s Book of Stress Free Dinner Parties. With step by step support, you’ll learn what you need to know, to have the confidence you need to relax and enjoy your night too.

“It’s generally not the dinner that’s the scary part, it’s the possibility that something will go embarrassingly wrong,” Alexandria said. “But planning for what might go wrong, preparing your home and practising your meal gives you more control over your party.”

Stress Free Dinner Parties explains that almost all events follow the same process, from small dinners to large functions, it’s just the scale that changes. You’ll learn how to plan and prepare for your dinner party; from getting your guests to arrive and leave, to calculating how much food and drink you need, to getting back to normal once it’s all over.

After overhearing a conversation on a train, Alexandria Blaelock was inspired to share the lessons she learned the hard way during her personal and professional event and project management knowledge and experience.

Ms Blaelock shares these five tips for a successful Stress Free Dinner Party.

1. Set a Budget

Inviting people for dinner can quickly get expensive. Wine alone could cost anywhere from $50 to $500 depending on what you buy. Plus you might need extra dishes, utensils, and linens.

2. Choose a Theme

Your theme doesn’t have to be something formal like Titanic, it can simply be Casual Barbecue. It’s just a way to rule options in and out so you end up with a coherent Dinner Party; your sausage and coleslaw aren’t served on gold trimmed white porcelain with a starched white linen napkin.

3. Use Your Dinner Party as an Excuse to Give Your House a Really Good Clean

The last thing you want (except for a meteor strike during dinner) is for your guests to fall ill after eating at your place. Clean your home from top to bottom, so you don’t leave your guests wondering whether they’ll need a stomach pump on the way home.

4. Learn One Reliable Menu

Diner Parties don’t always have to be restaurant quality; the best meal is one that you know you can comfortably cook time and time again. Perhaps Champagne and dips for apéritif, salad with more Champagne for an appetiser, roasted lamb racks and Pinot Noir for main and fresh fruit with Moscato for dessert. Maybe a morsel of cheese for the turophiles (cheese lovers).

5. Invite the Right Guests

You need a good mix of talkers and listeners, witty and clever, and especially people who will shower and put on clean clothes before dinner. If your guests enjoy themselves, they will remember your evening fondly regardless of what the food was like.

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