Audrey Posted November 1, 2011 Share Posted November 1, 2011 (edited) I quite like to have a little dinner party or light gathering of friends on a regular basis. I probably entertain more in the winter, just because I feel like it needs a bit of extra cheer. Just curious how often others entertain. I'm talking about inviting others to your home for a party or supper -- that kind of thing. What kind of entertaining do you like to do? I'm always looking for party ideas if you're willing to share. :) Edited November 1, 2011 by Audrey Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kewb Posted November 1, 2011 Share Posted November 1, 2011 I would love to entertain frequently but time and funds are always an issue. We probably average 3 times a year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paisley Hedgehog Posted November 1, 2011 Share Posted November 1, 2011 nm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Margo out of lurking Posted November 1, 2011 Share Posted November 1, 2011 I chose 7-10, but that's because we have the same family friends over. Other than that, not at all. It's always been something I've wanted to work on . . . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meriwether Posted November 1, 2011 Share Posted November 1, 2011 I'm not sure how to vote. I enjoy having families over for meals and game nights. I have out of town company 2-3 times a year for long weekends. I have birthday parties for the kids. I invite homeschool families over for an afternoon - sometimes for a meal, but not always. I like organizing big events. I'm wanting to invite our homeschool group over for a spelling bee type thing and the Brownies for something but I'm not sure what. I was called the "party girl" at my last church which is hilarious because I've never "partied" in the traditional sense. But there is an ebb and flow to the parties/dinners. I can't say 1 or 2 a month. I may not do anything for months, but I sometimes have several things back-to-back several weeks in a row. We had good friends visit from our last town on Saturday. It was lovely. The kids ran off to do their own thing and the ladies skunked the guys at spades. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MyLittleWonders Posted November 1, 2011 Share Posted November 1, 2011 I'm rather introverted and don't like large crowds, or small crowds for the matter, in my house. The prep alone stresses me out. That said, with four kids, we have 3-4 birthday gatherings a year (we are hoping to keep dd and ds#2's birthday gatherings on the same day), but it really is only family that are invited/come. We also tend to host Christmas and sometimes Easter, but again those are smaller, family gatherings. Those are enough for me. ;) (I'd rather go to someone else's than have a bunch of people at my house.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TKDmom Posted November 1, 2011 Share Posted November 1, 2011 I always like having people over because it forces me to clean my house. :D My new favorite thing to do is to have a game night. Invite a few people over, ask everyone to bring some goodies, and play a few party games or board games. It's fairly low-key, but that's about all I'm up to these days (it takes an awful lot of energy to clean this house.... ;)) Most of friends have lots of young children and they bring them all along. It can get LOUD in the house, but the kids entertain each other and the adults enjoy being around other adults without the stress of finding a babysitter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cassy Posted November 1, 2011 Share Posted November 1, 2011 Before I homeschooled, about once a month. Since we started homeschooling just over two years ago, about once a year, if I absolutely have too. I'm just too exhausted to even think about entertaining in those odd moments when I'm not doing school, cleaning, washing, ironing, shopping, cooking, sleeping ... I also no longer feel all that presentable for socialising :tongue_smilie:. I haven't bought any new clothes in over a year, haven't had my hair cut in over six months. I used to really enjoy entertaining, but now I really enjoy homeschooling instead. One day life will return to normal and we'll do more, I know DH is really looking forward to that day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mbelle Posted November 1, 2011 Share Posted November 1, 2011 We like to have people over all the time. Usually for dinner and usually with other families. We have big gathering (20+ people) 2-3 times a year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
6packofun Posted November 1, 2011 Share Posted November 1, 2011 Never here, too. However, I don't *like* it that way, it's just a matter of funds, where we live, and getting the house together enough to feel comfortable inviting people over. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elinor Everywhere Posted November 1, 2011 Share Posted November 1, 2011 I said 1-2 times a month, but it's probably a bit more than that. We like to eat, my dh loves to cook, and so do our friends/family. This weekend we had friends over on Saturday night for a formal best-plates-and-real-silver kind of meal, with printed menus and the whole works. That was fun, and the kids love to make interesting creations from our napkin-folding book. The next night (Sunday) we had my sister over for homemade pizza and a movie, which was a very different sort of entertaining. Last night (Monday) we just had a couple of neighborhood friends in for a glass of wine while the kids were out trick-or-treating. We live outdoors quite a bit, and we'll often host pool parties in the summer or backyard parties in the winter with buffet-style dining and yard games (washers, croquet, etc). We threw my niece an awesome wedding shower back in April, and we had food stations set up in the kitchen and outside, along with a few bar areas. We'll sometimes have 6-10 people for a rock-band party, and sing ourselves hoarse to the Beatles while eating/drinking - those are usually very fun. I guess maybe I should have voted for more than twice a month...:tongue_smilie: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meriwether Posted November 1, 2011 Share Posted November 1, 2011 If you like games and large groups, game show nights are fun. We did Family Feud with our church family one night. I bought pizza and make some treats - a round cake decorated like a Trivial Pursuit gameboard and some butter cookies decorated like dominoes. Everyone else brought snacks or drinks. I had tables set up in three rooms and a pile of board games available. In the living room, I had a white board and two rows of chairs for the contestants. Each family (or two families if they were smaller) got a chance to play. I used questions from the board game version. We moved then but I had plans for Wheel of Fortune and Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader. I may have to have a party for the families of my Sunday School class.:001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meriwether Posted November 1, 2011 Share Posted November 1, 2011 Oh, sorry I just thought of another. We used to do a How to Host a Murder dinner party every year with my family at Thanksgiving. Those were fun. I might have to start that again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LaxMom Posted November 1, 2011 Share Posted November 1, 2011 I'm rather introverted and don't like large crowds, or small crowds for the matter, in my house. The prep alone stresses me out. ...{snip}... (I'd rather go to someone else's than have a bunch of people at my house.) This is me, though the prep doesn't so much stress me out as deplete the energy I need to endure a bunch of people in my space. We actually end up with people here once a month or so, but it's an impromptu dinner thing rather than a planned event. Never, ever parties. We hosted holidays for several years so as to not have to drag the kids all over, but that's just as exhausting. I hide in the kitchen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jenny in Atl Posted November 1, 2011 Share Posted November 1, 2011 Not often enough... no $$, and even fewer friends. :sad: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UnsinkableKristen Posted November 1, 2011 Share Posted November 1, 2011 I guess it depends on how you define "entertain". We have my SIL & BIL over about 1x/wk to have dinner and watch movies. We have FIL & MIL and BIL & SIL over once a month of so. But that is just family :) We have friends over about once a month, maybe less. We'd love to do more, but schedules plus lots of kids makes it difficult. This has definitely made me want to have some people over soon, though! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosie_0801 Posted November 1, 2011 Share Posted November 1, 2011 Pretty much never, but back before we moved towns I used to host a girlie dinner each month. It was just the four of us, pot luck so we could afford it and if someone couldn't make it, it didn't matter because they knew we'd be there the next month. Once in a while I was eating dinner by myself, but while lonely, it didn't really matter since I was home anyway. They'd all show up again the next month. :) Dh either hid in the bedroom playing computer games or went out with the fellas. Rosie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thescrappyhomeschooler Posted November 1, 2011 Share Posted November 1, 2011 I voted once a month on average, but we usually entertain more in the summer. We have an inground pool, so we often host swim parties 2-3 times per month in the summer. For the rest of the year, we entertain mostly for holidays and birthdays. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elegantlion Posted November 1, 2011 Share Posted November 1, 2011 $ and illness forced me to vote never. I am hoping to change that though. I don't necessarily like to entertain, but I like to have friends over, but all of my friends don't live close and they're broke too. Dh was so sick this summer we couldn't even attempt it. We attended a murder mystery dinner once. It was so fun. Everyone was game to participate and came in costume. I like having people over where you don't feel like you have to "entertain" them every moment, but that you enjoy each others company. We do have my parents up quite a bit, we enjoy their company, but I don't consider that entertaining. I think the hardest part is finding the dynamic of people that get along. I think most people can be civil enough to get through an evening, but it can be harder if you're trying to create an ongoing group situation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jennifer3141 Posted November 1, 2011 Share Posted November 1, 2011 I usually have friends over at least once a month but I do find we do it more often in the winter too. I've been considering starting a semi-monthly dinner club and seeing if anyone else locally is interested. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duckabell Posted November 1, 2011 Share Posted November 1, 2011 We try to have friends over for dessert once or twice a month. It's very casual and usually we'll both pitch in a dessert. It's a lot easier than doing dinner with small children. The children just play while the adults talk. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elinor Everywhere Posted November 1, 2011 Share Posted November 1, 2011 I always like having people over because it forces me to clean my house. :D Which is exactly why we were all feverishly spring cleaning on Saturday morning. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FaithManor Posted November 1, 2011 Share Posted November 1, 2011 Entertaining as in a party or a nice dinner or something with friends? Not more than 3 times per year and sometimes as low as 1. If you mean having a mad scientist 4-H club wielding flammable substances and testing radical physics theories, well then, once per month and now that the competitive rocketry team is back in action, three times per month. Faith Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soror Posted November 1, 2011 Share Posted November 1, 2011 (edited) Averaging about 2x a month. Used to be a few times a year. I used to freak everytime someone came over, but I don't anymore. The place is fairly clean and good enough. I have a standing 1x a mnth event at the house and various other things- inviting the Priests over, playdates, friends for dinner, relatives for dinner, etc. We just had guests today for an impromptu playdate, other friends invited at the end of the week and Science club scheduled for next Friday- and dh has on his list to invite a friend over sometime as well. Edited November 1, 2011 by soror Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Audrey Posted November 1, 2011 Author Share Posted November 1, 2011 I always like having people over because it forces me to clean my house. :D My new favorite thing to do is to have a game night. Invite a few people over, ask everyone to bring some goodies, and play a few party games or board games. It's fairly low-key, but that's about all I'm up to these days (it takes an awful lot of energy to clean this house.... ;)) Most of friends have lots of young children and they bring them all along. It can get LOUD in the house, but the kids entertain each other and the adults enjoy being around other adults without the stress of finding a babysitter. I'm that way, as well. It forces my guys to care about the housekeeping, too, though, which I consider a HUGE bonus! :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JFSinIL Posted November 1, 2011 Share Posted November 1, 2011 Only family dinners on holidays. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Desert Rat Posted November 1, 2011 Share Posted November 1, 2011 Once a month or so here. We have people over more often because all 3 boys have terrible animal allergies. So, we can't go to others' houses. I compensate by making the best desserts in town. :) We are very casual. It's all about the food and friends, not about fancy plates and silverware. We serve chili, tacos, grilled meat and veggies, lasagna, spaghetti, that kind of fare. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Renthead Mommy Posted November 1, 2011 Share Posted November 1, 2011 I voted once a month, but that's not for this house. We've always had people over at least once a month, often more. But here in this house, where we actually have family and friends from way back, we pretty much always go to there houses. I'd be more than willing to host, but it's just for all them for us to travel these three years. They all live either an hour east or west. It's easier for us to travel to them (they have dogs or kids or whiney husbands and we don't have video games or espn (for the whiney husband) ) so we go there. And because we already had people, we didn't really go looking for friends locally. Once we leave here and get back to base living, it will be back to how it was at least once a month if not more. Living here for these three years is just sort of odd because it is so out of the norm of what we usually do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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