On Monday, I shared my Thanksgiving table which got me thinking how I entertain friends and family in my home. With the Holiday season kicking off next week fast I thought I’d share some small house entertaining tips. One of the myths small homeowners believe is their home is too small to entertain. Not true friends! Since we’ve owned our home we’ve had both large and intimate dinner parties - both inside and out. One of the biggest concerns for entertaining in a small house is: Where does all the food go? Where will my family sit? My table & dining room are too small?
Just a little background on my design series Small Home Style before I jump into today’s post, I started the design to help my fellow small home dwellers solve design dilemmas that pop up with living small. I’ve learned it's all about how you use your space when hosting family and friends for the Holidays. Below are my five tips to help for entertaining in a small space, hopefully, these will help make your Holiday easier and more enjoyable!
Five Tips for Entertaining in a Small Space
ONE // Use Your Coffee Table for Appetizers. Using your coffee table as an appetizer station is a friendly greeting for guests. Use an array of dishes to hold appetizers, to add height use books under the plates. While I love dinnerware specifically make for appetizers, storing them year-round isn’t practical in my small kitchen. Instead, I use platters and larger sized salad plates that stack away neatly. Decorate the coffee table with candles, mini pumpkins, and foliage, place appetizer plates, napkins and silverware directly on the table. On my coffee table, I used leftover eucalyptus for my Thanksgiving table setting to add more pretty to my coffee table. I tottally take the easy way out when it comes to appetizers! Trader Joe's has the best priced and tasting frozen apps #JustSaying
TWO // Serve Family Buffet Style. When I see a magazine article sharing a beautiful Holiday dining room table with the table decorated and all the food on the table, I'm always in ahh. However, that’s not always practical on a small dining room table. Instead serve your Holiday meal family buffet style. Turn your kitchen counters, kitchen island or sideboard in your dining room into a buffet. Create a spot for plates, silverware and spread the food out and make a drink station. In my home, we place the desserts on our dining room table for easy access (really to save counter space), because pie and turkey go together!
THREE // Bring in a New Table. If you have a small dining room table that isn’t able to accommodate all your guests, consider temporarily bringing a foldable conference style table that’s wide enough for two plates across from one another but narrow enough to fit your space. Once the table is covered with a tablecloth, napkins, and plates, it will feel like a pretty table all dressed up.
FOUR // Keep it Casual. A fun alternative to a Holiday gathering all around the table is to keep it casual and skip the formal dining table and instead the style of your dining room table as a spot to a centerpiece, plates, silverware and make a bar area. Create a buffet feeling in the kitchen (Idea Two) and have guests eat wherever they choose, place extra chairs in your living room & dining for sitting. Some friends will congregate in the kitchen eating dinner, others will watch the game from the sofa. The whole point of Holidays is spending time with your family and friends and creating your traditions. Not everyday Holiday has to be some elebrate spread #SorryNotSorryMartha creating special memories is what it's all about.
image via Apartment Therapy
FIVE // Get Unconventional & Eat Outside. If you live in a warm climate and your late November weather is pretty, why not eat outside and take advantage of the the pretty sunny day. There have been so many Thanksgiving were my husband and I are like we should so eat outside it's so pretty! I l love fabulous Justina Blakeney (also a small home dweller!) take on Thanksgiving outside, she used several long conference tables places together covered them with pretty tablecloths and brought in heating lamps just in case the temps dropped! She was able to transform her small backyard and have memorable night with family and friends and that’s what its about creating memories
image via Domino
image via Be A Happy Traveler
For more ideas for small home dwellers, check out my design series Small Home Style. What are some of the small home entertaining tips you've incorporated into your Holidays?
