When it comes to cooking, there's nothing more rewarding than serving your friends and family at a party. Whether it be a dinner, baby shower, or birthday bash, crafting the perfect menu is crucial to an event's success. From your guests' dietary needs to the occasion to the season, there's a lot to consider when planning a menu. Don't be overwhelmed, I've got a handful of suggestions to keep in mind the next time you're deciding what to serve.
- Being a good hostess means that you make guests feel welcome and comfortable, that's why it's important to think about their diets. Don't serve a meat-heavy menu if you have vegetarians in attendance. A friend allergic to gluten? Offer a gluten-free meal. While you may have to think outside the box, there are millions of dishes in the world; it can be done!
- If it's easier for you to cook with a theme, like rustic Italian, casual Californian, or traditional Spanish, do so!
- Unless you are highlighting a special item on purpose, (like serving a blood orange meal, where each course features blood oranges), make sure there isn't too much of one ingredient. Too much cheese or starch or vegetables will result in an unbalanced meal.
Get the rest of my tips — and share yours! — after the jump.
This weekend I'm hosting a big dinner party that 22 people are expected to attend. I keep asking myself the following question: should I do a seating chart? Many of the guests are couples and traditionally couples should not sit together; a seating chart will ensure that everyone is separated. Still, I want to the conversation to be lively and hope that everyone will have an awesome time. Is this only possible if I let guests select where they sit? What do you think? How do you feel about assigned seating at a dinner party?
My favorite kind of party is a sit down dinner complete with a 
While I've always kept a 
When writing this sort of note include your apartment number and the start and end time of the party. You could also extend the invitation to your neighbors, chances are they won't come. Then, place the note in a visible area where they will see it. I promise that if you do this, your neighbors won't complain, just be sure to end the party at the time specified in the note.
When it comes to entertaining, I don't limit myself to strictly the weekend. I'll host a dinner party on Monday or a game night on Wednesday. However, I know not everyone entertains as much as I do. Thus, I want to know, when do you have people over? Any old night of the week? Or only for special occasions?
From his 
To celebrate my birthday, I invited everyone I know to join me for happy hour. I took the time to make and send a special invite. However, I was shocked by how many friends didn't read it. One person thought the party was the day I sent the invite, another went to the wrong bar, and two people showed up four hours after the specified time. Not reading an invitation is my biggest party planning pet peeve. I made it a point to provide all the necessary details, so why can't my guests take five seconds to read the text? Since we all host parties in some form or another, I'm sure you have party planning pet peeves, too. 