The taste of the delicious cuisine, the presentation, setup, and layout of the food dishes, charcuterie boards, dips & sauces, the decorations, lighting, and entertainment, are all part of impressing your guests and will be remembered as the holiday party everyone talks about for years to come.
Here are a few tips to make your party the most talked about and remembered event in town.
- Food
Let’s start with the most essential element at your event. Food. Décor and everything else can be great, but if the food is not perfect your guests will remember that. The first thing when planning your event is to not wait to retain and get on the calendar of the best caterer in town. The holiday season is a very busy time of year, for a successful event, you’ll want to get the party date on the calendar early! Talk to others that have hosted events. Get recommendations and check reviews. You might even find a caterer that does a taste test of popular items. Caterers in busy metros, like Orlando, Florida can fill up their calendars during the busy season. A 5 Star, highly recommended caterer like The Gourmet Machine And Catering can help you with your menu and cater your event. The quality, freshness, taste, and presentation of the buffet is the most crucial element of a successful event. Once you have the food taken care of, let the party planning begin!
When planning the menu, you should know where your guests will be eating. Will it be a formal sit-down meal, or will it be more casual with seating on chairs or a standing mingling party? Your caterer will help you with table placement and flow if needed. Don’t hesitate to ask for help.
- Pick a Color or Theme
It is normal to gravitate towards your favorite colors or popular colors when choosing a color palette. Mixing colors that look beautiful together is a key element for your most dominant color to stand out. You can use various shades of your primary color to highlight décor items. If you are hosting a holiday event, you may want to be unique and not select traditional holiday colors such as red and green.
There are so many fun festive holiday colors. Turquoise is a popular color, even for holidays. Gold and variations of gold are great colors to work with. Everything matches gold so; you will not have trouble finding beautiful décor items that pair well with gold.
You can choose a themed event. Themed events are a little easier to plan as most of the decor is centered around a title, theme, brand, and color scheme. Most décor items for themed parties can be purchased in party stores.
Once you select your color the sky is the limit! Now to choosing tablecloths, napkins, tableware, décor, and even food that matches the color theme. Don’t forget to consider the lighting in the room when you select colors. Now let’s talk about displaying your food.
- Table Displays
One common myth is that you must spend a lot of money on tables. If your event is at a community hall, event hall, or rental venue, most will have access to tables or provide them. If your event is in a private home, using the tables you have may be sufficient. A budget-friendly idea is to pick up a few tables from your local rental center or party supply outlet. Remember tables are covered with tablecloths, drapes, or other coverings. The beauty of the table is the covering and table décor.
Table displays are the visual masterpiece of the event. If beautifully created, your guests will be snapping photos, and using the buffet table as a backdrop. There are many ways to add height to items on your table. Boxes stands and other props can be used to create beautiful visuals. You can add height and drape gorgeous coverings over the props. Pedestals make nice risers or props for dishes. If you are using food warmers, cake stands, deep bowls, and serving dishes, you may want some of them to be up higher to make reaching food items at the back of the table easier. Think about guests reaching over a bowl to the back of the buffet table. The back is where you may want to have a higher level to avoid things touching the food in the front and center of the table.
There are so many creative items and props you can use for your main buffet table. As you add in table décor do not forget holiday ornaments, live garland or flowers, natural items, or themed decorations you can purchase at your local party store. Make your main food table the center of everything.
For the dining tables, if you are having a seated event, your tableware and table settings will be especially important. Again, rental halls or banquet rooms provide tableware, and buffet table dressings as well. It is up to the party host to add all the festive colors and decorations to make the party memorable.
- Ambiance
Create a feeling your guest will love. String copper, gold, or fairy lights to highlight walkways, tables, entryways, or around room parameters. Create warmth, fun, elegance, or just a subtle hint of romance by using lights. White or clear Christmas can be used at events all year long. Battery-operated fairy lights look beautiful in glass for centerpieces. Light strands can illuminate a darker room giving visibility to guests who are walking around the room. Lighting can take a plain venue and transform it into a truly unforgettable and magical place.
Air and heating. The ambiance of your event can be ruined if guests are overly warm or freezing cold. If the room fills up with people, it may be necessary to create more airflow or cool air. After the room is set up check the room before the party starts.
Create a lovely feel for your event with the right music or entertainment. Music is a big part of a great evening. Hire a band or DJ for the occasion. You may have periods of entertainment followed by soft music in the background during eating, or no music at all if someone is speaking. There are a lot of factors to consider when creating the perfect ambiance in a venue.
- Accents
Think about adding accent items. If your event or party is themed, you will want to pick the décor that matches your theme. If you are hosting a holiday winter wonderland theme party, you can have twinkling clear or white lights, tinsel, blue and white sparkles, and you may choose to have several decorated trees in the room. You may also choose to have holiday gifts for accent items. If your event is not a holiday event you might want natural rustic items for a country or outdoor theme. You may want coastal décor if you are having a beach theme event.
There are so many ideas and resources for every kind of event. You may want to enlist the help of a party planner when you book your venue. A party or event planner will usually take care of everything from booking to the last finished detail. They can also assist you when you select the caterer unless you want to take on that task.
We hope these tips help you as you are planning your next event. Whether it is a holiday party, New Year’s Eve party, Birthday, Wedding, Anniversary, Milestone, Corporate Picnic, or formal dinner party, planning is key.
Contact The Gourmet Machine And Catering today for all your event catering needs. Do you want foods to match your event theme? Talk to our chefs.