Fall Fun: Throwing an easy, breezy, spooky dinner party

A chilly breeze, fall mums, pumpkins and cozy sweaters. All reasons to bring the fun inside.

This past weekend, I was the host for our monthly Supper Club.

Despite living in a small, downtown apartment, I love hosting parties and dinner events. So, with the holidays upon us, I thought I’d share my tricks to stress-free hosting.

Prepping the home

The best tip I have for throwing a home party is preparation. This starts with cleaning the home.

I have found that I prefer one day to clean, per room seen. I mean really, really clean. So, for me I have a small loft apartment, so the whole space is fair game to be seen. (If you have a two-story home, you’ll probably only need to clean the first floor)

I have a bedroom, a bathroom and a kitchen/living room. That’s three rooms or three days. Then add one day for a final walk through. And don’t include the day of the party.

Example… Our Supper Club dinner was at my place on Friday, October 25. If I don’t include Friday, I count Thursday as my final touch up day, that means I clean the bathroom on Wednesday, the kitchen/living room on Tuesday and the bedroom on Monday.

I clean the rooms in a specific order. My bedroom is easy to keep clean so I start with that. The bathroom is where I do my makeup and hair, so that gets really messy really quickly so I save that one for last. On Thursday I quickly re-wiped surfaces, mopped and vacuumed. I also used Thursday to decorate my home for Halloween and relax before the big day.

Notice I didn’t say house. That’s because I strongly believe a party can be held in any home, huge or tiny.

Creating the menu

Since our Supper Club meets monthly, we try to keep things relatively easy for the host. They come up with the theme and main entree. The guests bring the side items and beverages.

Being October, I decided on a spooky pumpkin theme. I went with two, complementary entrees. The first, a pumpkin gnocchi with a sage butter sauce. The second, a large pasta noodle with a robust tomato pumpkin sauce. (Yes, I essentially served my guests a grown-up version of spaghetti with Ragu… more on that in the next post.) Guests signed up for everything from green bean casserole to pumpkin spiced Old Fashioned cocktails.

Shoutout to Stacey for the incredible roasted s’mores and Cory for the top-notch pics

Note: Our closed Facebook group allows us to communicate, get a final head count, and have a running list of items being brought so we don’t get duplicates and have a well-rounded meal.

Pre-Purchase the Food

The weekend before, I find it nice to get all the laundry done, and between loads, head to the grocery store. This is when I buy all the “not fresh” items, any paper goods or flatware I may need, and ensure I have enough TP and paper towels.

For this dinner, I was able to pre-purchase the gnocchi, butter, heavy cream, garlic, noodles, pasta sauce, wine, a few decorations, pumpkins and some cute napkins and little side plates.

Day of Prep

Now, depending on your schedule, time or party, etc, this may be the “night before prep.”

On my way home from work, I hit the nearest grocery store. Notice, I didn’t say favorite. That’s because ease is critical the day of the party and you’re only grabbing a couple items.

I picked up tiny tomatoes, fresh sage, a French baguette, and flour I had forgotten to grab prior. .

Once home, I prep as much food as possible right away. For these recipes, this was pulling large pots out of storage, cutting the baguette, infusing the water, chopping tomatoes, sage, basil (I grow on my windowsill) and measuring all dry ingredients into pots. Essentially at this time, I do everything in the kitchen except the actual cooking. This allows you to wash any measuring tools, put away any excess ingredients and start getting the kitchen put back together and ready for your guests.

I cut fresh baguette, put a little real butter and olive oil on both sides, sprinkle with Italian seasoning and garlic powder. Cook in oven on low for a while (Photo credit: Cory Mitchell)

Now, an hour out, I light the candles, turn on any battery operated decorations, make sure the bed is made and everything is tidy.. While the floors dry, I get myself together.

Half hour out, I start cooking. My dishes are only supposed to take about 15 minutes to make, but for me, cooking always takes longer than expected. Also, getting done with the food about 15 mins before guests arrive allows you to clean those last few dishes.

Keep your entries warm in the oven on the lowest setting until guests arrive.

Setting the mood:

For me, I like fall dinner parties to be cozy and intimate. The easiest way to achieve this is through lighting, scent and sound. Keep the lights low, avoid overhead lighting and opt for just a couple lamps. Light lots of cozy scented (and unscented) candles and pick a play list that easy to listen to and keep the volume low.

For this party, I wanted to blend classy and creepy. I kept all my pumpkins white and had them scattered all throughout space. Some in piles, others on candlestick holders, and more on the window sills. I added black and silver creepy touches to the bar cart, my candelabra, and the kitchen.

Greeting Guests:

As friends and family come, offer them a drink right away and be sure to have at least one fun, alcohol-free option. I made an apple cinnamon infused water. Ideally, there’s a few finger-food items around to keep people busy while waiting for the rest of the guests. (I definitely forgot this step this month, sorry guys.)

Have a plan for the evening but be prepared to kiss it goodbye.

This month, the party was scheduled for 6:30 with an expected dinner goal of about 7:00. However, some guests were quite punctual while others were quite late. Soon, we were all a couple cocktails in and it was about 9:00 by the time we ate. All the food was lukewarm but it all still felt perfect.

I don’t have a kitchen table, but that’s okay. We all sat knee-to-knee on my cozy, fuzzy rug. It may be unconventional, but for our group of about 10, it worked great and created a family feeling.

Get ready for games:

Our Supper Club almost always ends with games. It a great way to keep the vibe light, keep out of the food coma and keep the party going. Our go-to is a mix of Pictionary and Charades.

Place lots of random words in a bowl. Make two teams. Take turns pulling a word. Flip a coin. Heads is draw, tails is act. It works best if you have a large dry erase board but can be done other ways too. This can easily be kid-friendly or scandalous, depending on the crowd.

This month, we played Bonk. A great game for four people to play and a fun game for others to watch. Other games we’ve played are 5 Seconds and Cards Against Humanity. I’m asking Santa for What Do You Meme, because I think that’d be great to add to our rotation.

Not everyone is a game person, so don’t be hurt if a few people want to sit-it-out. They’ll most likely keep snacking, sipping and get a good laugh watching the game-players.

Final Thoughts:

Things will go awry. For this party, my “warm” baguette actually became large croutons…..and my gnocchi took much longer to make than expected, and we ate way behind schedule.

It. Doesn’t. Matter.

What really matters is friends and family and love. Remember, these guests came to your home to celebrate, spend time together and to laugh. Don’t let yourself get lost in the details.

Keep in mind:

If the meal goes awry, ditch the dish, order pizza and pour another round of cocktails… because it’s bound to become a memorable night no matter what you eat.

XX

Have any must-do entertaining tips? Be sure to let me know!