Making Etiquette Easy: Your Holiday Party Survival Guide

It’s hard to believe that Thanksgiving is a done deal. In addition to the wonderful memories, the food still lingers on with our refrigerator and freezer filled with leftovers from our feast.  You know what comes next, right? Ding, ding, ding, 10 points for the lady in red.  The holiday party season is about to take off with a vengeance. With a mix of both social and business holiday soirées on the calendar, this season is notorious for being overwhelming, overloaded, and overworked which ultimately takes away from the true meaning of the season.  Here’s all you need to do; take a deep breath, grab a glass of wine (always a good idea in my opinion) and then take a moment to consider this:

 

~Make a Calendar Devoted to Events. It’s so easy to get over-committed during the holidays. Not only are you attending holiday functions, but you are also buying gifts, decorating your home, sending Christmas cards, etc.  The key here is to stay organized.  I cannot function without my lists and my social events calendar.  Being able to break things down on a daily basis helps make things more manageable.  Jotting down specifics in your social and business events calendar such as reminders for host or hostess gifts, securing a baby-sitter, and managing RSVPs in a timely manner is an excellent way to stay on top of the busy weeks ahead. Santa’s got nothing on you baby!

~Handling Multiple Events in One Night. Speaking of Santa, if he can visit every home in the world in one night, then so can you. However, this notion does depend on the type of function to which you’ve committed. If one of your parties is a seated meal, then I suggest you only commit to one event that night since this type of evening entails numerous courses and some major planning by the host well in advance. It would be quite rude to leave in the middle of the meal to attend another event.  When choosing between two parties, I recommend attending the party for which you were invited first, out of courtesy. Now, if you have two parties that are both come and go, divide your time and conquer.  An hour at each event is acceptable. Whatever you do, make sure you don’t seem uninterested or rushed at the night’s first event as it can be very obvious to other guests, and more importantly the host.

~Thanking the Holiday Hostess With The Mostess. In following the Christmas spirit of giving, I always recommend bringing a host or hostess gift, especially if the event is at someone’s home. It is not as important to bring a gift when the party is at a restaurant or other locale, however, it is still a nice and thoughtful gesture. I prefer to give gifts that embody the holiday spirit, but also keep your host in mind as they may have different taste than you do. Items for the home, or an edible or drinkable treat are always a hit.  Whatever you decide, go the extra mile and add some festive wrap or ribbon to the packaging.  Make your sparkle shine brighter, and I can almost guarantee you will be on the party invite list again next year.  

            The holiday season is a wonderful time of year to celebrate with family and friends. Don’t go “all Scrooge” and let the stresses and busyness of the holiday season take away from the true meaning of the season. Enjoy and be grateful for the abundance of holiday parties and invitations.  Translated, this just means that you have a myriad of friends, family and colleagues who enjoy your company, and it’s the one time of year when you get to celebrate the gift of these relationships, whether they are personal or professional. 

*For holiday ideas from decorating to gift ideas, and recipes to gift wrapping, we encourage you to check out our Holiday Pinterest Board for some of our favorite holiday things.* 

Photo Courtesy of ©iStock.com/Shaiith

Making Etiquette Easy: The Delicate Nature of Formal Dining

It’s hard to believe, but Thanksgiving – one of my favorite holidays – is right around the corner.  With Thanksgiving, comes the ushering in of the official holiday season which is sure to be filled with a plethora of both social and professional events. As we enter into this time of cheer, I thought I’d take a moment to revisit some key components to formal dining as it can be somewhat intimidating (particularly when several courses are served).  Fear the pheasant no more as I have compiled a list of formal dining tips to help solve culinary-related dilemmas.

-Always take cues from your host. Your host will serve as your guide throughout the meal. It is a general rule of thumb that you should wait to start your meal until the host has invited you to do so, either verbally or by picking up the first course silver. You don’t want to start eating before then as the host may plan to say grace or give a toast. Normally, the host will wait until all of the guests are seated and have received their food before he or she begins.  You should also follow the host’s direction for the timing of the various courses, as well as for the meal’s conclusion.
 

-Certain Silverware Has Certain Roles. If you observe how the table is set for a formal meal you will notice that there are usually two or three of everything depending on the courses forthcoming.  This is where a lot of folks start to panic.  The simplest way to navigate this conundrum is to remember that utensils are placed in the order of the course with the first course farthest from the plate.  So your salad fork will be to the left of your dinner fork. For spoons, look at the size of the head on the spoon first. The larger and wider the head means that that it is your soup spoon and the smaller and narrower spoon will be your teaspoon. 
 

-The Dreaded Bread Plate. I can’t tell you how many times someone has put their bread on my bread plate after the bread basket has been passed.   Many times further confusion commences when someone else at the table has correctly placed their bread.  To assure you are not the cause of a bread upheaval, remember that your bread plate is always to the left of your table setting and place it accordingly.

-Is That My Drink? When seated at a formal table, knowing which drink is yours can give pause, especially when the person next to you is also uncertain.  I always find the following saying helpful, “In order to drink right you must drink from the right”. With that being said, all of your glasses should be organized from widest to narrowest to the right of your place setting. Your water glass should be your widest glass and closest to you, followed by your wine glass (or glasses if both red and white wine will be served), and finally your champagne glass.

            Don’t let the formalities of formal dining take away from the enjoyment of your meal.  If your host is serving a formal meal, it means that much time and effort has been spent to make the occasion a special one.  Just keep these simple rules in your mind and you will dine with ease and delight! 

Photo Courtesy of: noahherrera