A dinner party (or any type of party where you serve food) requires proper tableware. You need a lot of items, like dishes, glassware, sauceboats and cutlery, enough for all your guests. For classy parties, the tableware needs to match: you can’t have half of the dishes white, the other half blue, three types of glasses and the cutlery all mismatched. If you love to receive guests and you organize a lot of parties, buying a complete, large set of tableware with all the items is a good investment.

When shopping for tableware items for a party, you need to consider first the menu you plan to serve. If it’s a sophisticated dinner party, with a many courses, then you need a lot of plates, glasses and cutlery. A complete set of tableware has to contain plates for the entree course, salads, main course and dessert. If you intend to serve soup, you also have to get some soup bowls. The cutlery is the next item on your list. You need forks for the entree course, salad and the main course. When fish is on the menu, a special type of fork, a fish fork, is needed. Other cutlery items you have to get for a party are the knives for the main course, the spoons for soup and teaspoons for dessert and for serving coffee.

The glasses are the next items to choose for a party. For every guest, you need at least two glasses – one for water, the other one for wine. Those glasses should be on the table, next to de plates. Also, you need different sets of glasses that you’ll use when you prepare other drinks for the guests: cocktails, whiskey, vodka, cognac. A nice set of cups for coffee and tea is also required when organizing a party.

Once you got all the items you need for the guests, you have to concentrate on tableware items for serving the food. You need some large serving platters, sauceboats, bowls for salads and a big knife to portion the meat. Ideally, all the plates, bowls and serving plates should be from the same set. If you can’t find a complete set, with all the tableware items you need for a party, you can combine sets that look good together. With glasses, you also need to make sure they belong to the same set of items.

Napkins and tablecloths are also very important if you want flawless table arrangement. The plates and the platters need to match with the napkins and the tablecloth. Try to get all the stuff you need from the same place: that way, you’ll have the opportunity to check how the plates, napkins and tablecloth look together.

Those are the tableware items you need to get for a party. If you are organizing a buffet, you need about the same type of tableware, but you have to arrange them differently. Set up a large table on a side of the room, but make sure there is enough space around the table for your guests to move comfortably around. Arrange the food on large platters, and leave the plates, glasses and cutlery aside. Get good-quality tableware items – you’ll be using them for years.

Author Bio: Jamie Highland writes about events and parties like weddings and baby showers. To find out more about and to shop for baby shower tableware or to check out some baby shower games, visit My Baby Shower Favors.

Category: Family Concerns
Keywords: tableware, party, party tableware, dishes, cutlery, glasses