Entertaining for Dummies

I love to entertain. Rather, I love when people bring wine to my house. Sometimes that’s the end of it. I sneak off to the bathroom with a bottle opener and my husband feigns death until the guests leave. That’s on a good night. Usually I enter into some charade of hospitality wherein someone generally says, “You do realize you’re hosting this thing, right?”

Here’s the thing, having friends over should be fun, and friends don’t care if your dishes match or there are crumbs on the floor, or the mushrooms in your risotto grew on your picnic table. And if the people at your house aren’t friends, why in the name of Nigella did you invite them? Regardless, here are my rules for stress-free and easy entertaining that puts hosts and guests alike at ease.

1. Experiment with Recipes – Nothing brings friends together like a sharing a delicious meal, expertly prepared. Equally bonding: shared immediate onset food poisoning. (Think Bridesmaids.)

2. Put the Lazy Bastards to Work – People always get along on communes, right up until the asteroid is due. So always recruit someone to dress the salad and someone to mix the Koolaid.

3. Liquor, Booze, and Hooch – Seriously. People just get along better under the influence. And they think they’re funnier, which of course makes them funnier. And if your friends get ugly when they drink, buy them wife beater tanks and trucker hats. And get new friends.

Do you have entertaining tips? Let us know here, and then join the conversation over on BlogHer, where the other participating bloggers have likely posted advice that is actually helpful.

And be sure to enter to win a Kindle Fire while you’re there!

Image: Mipsy Retro, Flickr