BE THE HOSTESS WITH THE MOSTESS THIS LONG WAITED SUMMER

HOW TO HOST AN ECO-FRIENDLY, HEALTHY AND SUSTAINABLE PARTIES THIS SUMMER

 I don’t know about you, but I am very excited for the summer season for so many reasons. 2020 was a challenging year and we transformed our way of thinking rather quickly. Going out for walks turned out to be the new fitness trend for some people, eating healthy became an even bigger priority than before, and everything changed almost overnight. 2021 is now opening new hopeful opportunities for family members and friends to get together after many months of isolation, and we are planning to make the best of it! Let’s celebrate the little things in life along with our biggest milestones such as weddings, High School graduations, College acceptances, baby showers, birthdays and, in general, life!

 We all know that the reputation of a hostess in society has always been based on her hospitality. Not all of us will be the best hostesses but we can certainly try our best to make the most with what we can! The questions are, “What can we do differently? How can we be more exceptional and intriguing this time versus the last time? How can we impress our guests and surprise them in a way that will make them happy?” I have a few suggestions below:

 What is different about this year is that the parties will be smaller, and our guest lists will shrink due to various reasons. The pandemic affected everyone in many different ways. Some people are still not comfortable enough to travel, some people might not even have the financial possibility to travel far, and some of us might have our differences in terms of vaccination policies. However, even though we might have a smaller amount of guests this time, we can still prepare a lovely gathering as long as we plan accordingly!

 The hostess reputation is built over time and not overnight. Below I am sharing my 5 lifestyle tips for beautiful celebrations this summer.

1. RETRO GLAM - Dust off the fine china and silver utensils! If the guest list is on the smaller end, we can create a beautiful, elaborated, and formal atmosphere almost instantly by bringing out our fine china and white tablecloths. Even for a garden party this could be ideal. We want to concentrate on class, elegance, and style. After the horrific 2020, we have many reasons to celebrate the little wins in life and even just celebrate our gratitude for life itself, as it is very precious. We should avoid the use of plastic cups, utensils, and plates. Even the most beautiful plastic cups in the form of champagne flutes, will bring down the formality tremendously. On an imaginary scale from 1-10, plastic dinnerware will knock down formality from a 10 to a 2. Instead, opt for fine china dinnerware, glass drinkware, and proper silverware. I remember the celebrations from the past when my beautiful aunt was hosting her best parties, it is a reminiscence of retro glam celebrations. Delicious cocktails, crystal glasses, and expensive silverware.

2. THE BARBEQUE – For more informal celebrations that involve casually preparing a barbeque outside, disposable plates and utensils might be most convenient. However, we should make the effort to focus on eco-friendly options for these occasions. Biodegradable utensils, reusable cups and straws, and compostable plates are the ideal for this situation as they will greatly reduce the amount of waste that goes to our landfills. I don’t know how you feel about paper straws, but they are becoming very popular and largely used. If you do not like them, there are also reusable bamboo straws, metal straws, and even glass straws, as well as so many other types. There are also ways to make eco-friendly options look chic! Take wooden utensils for example, everyone has some of type of wooden utensil in their kitchen cabinet. They are always a big hit because they provide a rustic, warm, and welcoming feeling. Wooden salad bowls, wooden salad servers, and bamboo forks and spoons all add that touch of rustic elegance to an outdoor party. It is all about the energy and the vibe. Many companies are now making eco-friendly plates and utensils that are also pretty and overall, aesthetically pleasing on the table. One thing on my list is bamboo napkins. I love the creativity and the sound of it, and it’s nice that we can enjoy our outdoor parties without harming the environment.

3. THE DECORATIONS - Decorations are extremely important for our parties. Instead of using balloons, which are a dangerous and terrible choice for the environment, we can use fresh flowers from our garden or anything with leaves or branches. During summertime, we can find them proactively anywhere. I applaud creativity and even the smallest, most simple flower can create such a lively atmosphere for our garden party. If we have a round table, we can place the flowers in the middle as a centerpiece. If we decide to use tree branches with leaves, we need to pay attention to the height and to make sure our guests can freely communicate without the height of the branches being in the way. Do not use plastic flowers. If you want flowers that last longer, you can consider dried flowers or even succulents, these create a lovely rustic effect, and they do the best in hot, dry weather since succulents need little water and dried flowers don’t need to be watered at all. In the summer months, we are blessed with so many wonderful gifts from nature which we can use to create authentic and lovely decorations. Use the in-season flora for inspiration.

4. THE FOOD - SUPPORT THE LOCAL MARKETS - Did you know that many restaurants are growing their own products or source from local farms? Fresh, healthy, and delicious is always the best option. A good hostel should always have a few different healthy alternatives for their guests from different choices of salads, to fish and lean meats and even veggie burgers. It is summertime, so warm and heavy meals with heavy meats and rich sauces might not be the ideal options. Every hostess has a secret or not so secret recipe. We do not need to be the greatest chef in town, but we definitely should prepare something special and memorable. One very important detail - do not experiment with recipes at your parties. Always prepare something that you are confident with, with a proven record of success, even if it is something simple like a salad dressing or fruit punch. It is important to stick to the basics when it comes to food.

 Hosting is all about creating an experience. Since last year, when the pandemic hit, I moved to my countryside home and adopted a Martha Stewart style of living (well, kind of). We have chickens and I get organic eggs every single day! This is the new entertainment for my guests! When they come to visit, they collect their own eggs for their omelets. Of course, this is something that is rather different, but you can create an experience like this by planting your own herbs and allowing your guests to pick them and season their food or garnish their drinks with them! You don’t even need to have a garden or backyard, there are many kits on the market available to grow things like basil, rosemary, and chives which come with a small planter, the seeds, and the soil – you just add the water! 

5. STOCK ON LITTLE USEFUL, FUN THINGS – We have all heard the phrase, “Little things make big things happen” and this is not an exception! We can stock up on fun, little things such as non-toxic sunblock, summer hats for the ladies (especially if we are hosting a pool party), reusable towels, and even some fun sunglasses, which we can purchase in some stores as cheap as $2.00. Everything counts! If our intentions are to have a memorable post pandemic party, this is our chance. We will be able to build beautiful, enchanting memories with our friends and family members and this is all that matters.

Enjoy your summer parties!

Manor of Manners