How to Host a Winter Dinner Party: 10 Steps (with Pictures) (2024)

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Co-authored byStefanie Chu-Leong

Last Updated: January 31, 2023References

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   Serve a warm, seasonal main dish. Even if you have asked guests to bring side dishes or desserts, plan to prepare the main dish yourself. Take advantage of the wintery season and cold weather to make a dish that’s warm and comforting. Soup, chili, roasted meat, or roasted vegetables (for attending vegetarians or vegans) are all good options.^[1]

   • For example, you can prepare a filling and warm White Chicken Chili which serves 8 adults. The chili contains cannellini beans, green chili, onions, 5 chicken breasts (or 2 rotisserie chickens), butter, and flour, in addition to several spices and optional toppings.
   • Avoid grilling or barbecuing meat, as these methods of meat-preparation are more associated with summer dinners.
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   Invite guests to bring a contribution to the meal. While you don’t necessarily have to turn your dinner party into a potluck, if guests offer to bring something, politely take them up on the offer. This could be as simple as asking guests to bring a bottle of wine or “something to drink,” or asking guests to bring a specific culinary item that would be helpful to you as you prepare the meal. For example, if you have a friend who enjoys bread or lives near a bakery, ask them to bring a fresh loaf of their favorite bread.^[2]

   • If you would like to host a winter potluck, you’ll need to make that clear to guests when you first invite them. State that you’ll be providing the dinner’s main dish, but would like guests to bring options for sides and desserts.^[3]
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   Think seasonally when deciding on dishes and ingredients. Since you’re already hosting a dinner party in winter and are likely planning to cook a variety of dishes, why not take advantage of the season and cook dishes using seasonally available ingredients? Take a trip to a nearby farmer’s market and see which vegetables and fruits are in season.^[4]

   • For example, kale and cabbage are in season during the winter months, and can be found at a farmer’s market or local health-food store.
   • Preparing dishes with local, seasonally available ingredients will improve the taste and quality of your dishes.
4. See Also

   Give Yourself a Post-Holiday Boost by Throwing a Little Winter Dinner Party32 Recipes for a Dream Winter Dinner Party Menu35 Cozy Winter Dinner Ideas to Warm You Up on Cold Evenings30 Cozy Winter Dinner Ideas (+ Easy Recipes)

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   Serve a pie (or two) for dessert. Pies are a great winter dessert: they’re served warm, filled with tasty fruits, and not as difficult to make as cakes and other desserts, so you could make more than one in advance of your dinner. The category of “pie” can also include turnovers; get creative with the size, style, and filling of dessert pies.^[5]

   • If you’re already stressed with the other duties associated with hosting a dinner party, ask one of your guests to bring a pie instead.

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   Plan ahead for seating arrangements. Unlike a dinner party held in the spring or summer, during which guests could spread out and sit outside, your winter dinner party will likely need to be contained within your house or apartment. This means that you should plan to have a chair at the table—or at least a seat on the couch and room on a nearby coffee table—for each guest. While you don’t need to fully script seating arrangements (guests can choose their own locations around the table), make sure that there’s plenty of room indoors for everyone to sit and eat.

   • It would be appropriate to let guests know that you have limited seating room, and that they should alert you promptly if they would like to bring a guest to dinner, or if they will not be able to attend dinner for a personal reason.
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   Stock up on supplies in advance. It can be awkward and potentially detrimental to the meal to run out of a key ingredient partway through dinner. Make that your pantry and refrigerator are well stocked before the dinner party begins. Double check that you have plenty of butter, cooking oil, dishware and silverware, and wine earlier in the day; you don’t want to have to send someone out into the cold to purchase an ingredient that you forgot, or to pick up more wine.^[6]

   • This step is especially important if you have guests coming over who plan to cook using your stove or oven, or who would like to use your serving dishes to present their own food.
   • To this effect, double check that you have plenty of clean serving dishes and forks or spoons.
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   Ready your decorations, music, or general ambiance. To put your guests at ease and in general set a pleasant and seasonal mood for your winter dinner party, decorate your home to a degree that you’re comfortable with. If you’d like to use seasonal flowers and greens to decorate, purchase a poinsettia or two to use as a table centerpiece. Baby’s Breath flowers are an effective winter decoration: they are dried and can last for months, and will add a nice touch to your dinner or coffee table.^[7]

   • For a more minimalist decoration / ambience setting, light a handful of evergreen-scented candles around your home.
   • If you’d like to play music, plan to play some winter favorites—including Christmas carols, depending on how near you are to the holiday—and mix in some upbeat rock, jazz, or pop. Online music streaming services likely already have a variety of winter-themed playlists put together for your choosing.^[8]

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   Invite guests with at least a week’s notice. Putting together a dinner party takes time, and you’ll want to give your guests enough advance notice so that they can check their schedules and plan ahead for your party.^[9] Regardless of the size of your prospective dinner party, and whether you plan to invite guests via face-to-face conversation, email, text, or mail, invite them at least a week in advance.

   • You may need to give guests more than a week of advance notice, considering that winter tends to be a busy season. If your planned dinner party is near the holidays (or anytime between mid-November and mid-January), invite guests three or four weeks in advance so their calendar isn’t already full by the time they receive your invitation.^[10]
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   Plan to finish preparation and cooking before your guests arrive. Part of the anxiety that some hosts feel surrounding a dinner party comes from being concerned that they’ll spend all night in the kitchen and have very little time with their guests. In order to avoid this conundrum, complete as much of the preparatory work as possible in advance. Earlier in the day, arrange chairs and set the table, and prepare the main dish (and any sides that you’re cooking).^[11]

   • Then, when your guests arrive, plan to engage them in conversation and start the dinner party by opening a bottle of wine or a couple of beers.
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   Put early arrivals to work. It can be a little awkward when party guests show up over 15 or 20 minutes early; you’re still preparing, but expected to entertain the guest as well. To avoid this situation, put any early arrivals to work helping you prepare the meal. For example, if you’re serving a charcuterie plate as an appetizer but haven’t had a chance to prepare it yet, ask your early guest(s) to slice the cheese and meats and set out crackers and olives.^[12]

   • If you have guests who arrive early and would like to finish baking or preparing a dish in your kitchen, or who would like to refrigerate a cool dish in your fridge, give them the time and space they need.

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