Dinner parties

We host dinners like that a few times a year. We have a group of couples that we enjoy seeing, so we all rotate for Supper Club. Once a month we are at someones home (or our home) for dinner. For our Supper Club, the host and hostess get to decide how formal (or not) the night is. There are 4 couples in our group so it works out that I host 3x a year.

On the surface, we all don't have much in common (different jobs, different politics, different stages with kids), but we really enjoy the others company so it works out.

I like to put out everything at once. Those fancy dinner parties, usually left the hostess in the kitchen the entire time of the party.

: My parents used to have these parties and mother was basically the waitress. They stopped having parties. when they realized that they rarely got invited to other parties. I guess people tried to guilt them into starting to have them again. They were missing the free drinks and food.

I've always wanted to be the dinner party sort, but it didn't quite happen. I was in a Bunco group for 15 or so years, and we rotated thru houses. We did have sit down dinners, but it was just us girls.

DH & I both enjoy hosting dinners and do large parties (more than 2 other families) 2-4 times a year along with having impromptu dinners with 1-2 families/couples maybe 1-2 times a month (more in the summer than winter).

Our parties are WAY less formal than the parties my parents hosted. I love to cook and experiment with recipes, so it is fun rather than stressful to have people over. I have friends with absolutely no interest in cooking and have never been for a meal at their house, although they will invite us out to a restaurant.

Your Supper Club sounds fun, mom. I worked with someone that was in a monthly club where the hosted prepared a menu published in either Gourmet or Bon Appetit magazine that month IIRC.

I think overall everything has changed.

Years ago, if one was going to a dinner party at someone's home, out to dinner, to the Doctor, to a Wedding, traveling, etc... you dressed up. Men wore suits and hats. Women wore dresses or fancy pantsuits. Even the grocery store outing was business casual. 

As a kid, if we went out for dinner to a "grown up" restaurant, it was a big deal. You wore your yearly "Easter dress" and your one pair of "yearly" good shoes, and we knew we had to be on our very best behavior.
McD's was a rare and occasional treat. The booklet of McD's >50cents gift certificate was a coveted item and a big deal to receive them.

These days, people shop in pajamas/slippers, wear jeans/t-shirts/shorts to a Wedding, yoga pants to Doctor appt, go out for dinner in whatever they feel like wearing, etc...
People go for days without washing their hair or bathing and it is an acceptable way of life. 

I think not as manly traditional dinner parties are held these days, because no one wants to cater to each individuals needs....Vegan, gluten, keto, plain only(<< that would be me), no dairy, no carbs, low fat only, etc...
In this day and age, it's a "me" type of society. Unlike back in yesteryear, where everyone ate whatever the hostess served, and very rarely was anyone catered to. These days people are (myself included) are vocal about what they will and won't eat. That makes it hard to accomodate an assortment of guests.

We host dinner parties. However, usually appetizers and wine happen around the kitchen island instead of the living room. We do eat in the dining room though. We love to have neighbors over or other friends and take turns going back and forth depending on where we got together last. We have friends coming over March 7th! The last dinner party we had was for Thanksgiving, we had 2 families over for a total of 12 people for dinner.

My parents used to have formal dinner parties in the ’60s and ’70s, too. We kids would get the leftover hors d’oeuvres and chocolates the next morning. My brother would drink whatever booze was left in the bottom of cocktail glasses.

When I was younger and my husband was alive, we had much more casual dinners here or at friends’ houses. I guess I avoid social engagements like the plague now. I mostly only have family over for dinner, or occasional tea parties for my friends.

But young/middle-aged couples ... does anyone still do formal dinners? Not in my social set.

I agree with what ScrapbookMyLife said. I also think most people don't cook these days. In the 60s and 70s, most women stayed home and most could put together a passable "meat and potatoes" type meal (and most everyone would eat that).

I am a good cook, but don't like cooking for others because of the dietary issues. We also live in one of the best food cities in the country, so when we get together with friends we tend to go out.

Huge difference from my growing up years when we almost never ate out, and when we did, it was a dress-up occasion. My mom was an abysmal cook, so when we had people over, dad usually grilled something or it would be a heavy hors d'oeuvres type meal. I'll never forget being invited over to a neighbor's house for a family dinner party. We were served roast pheasant and some kind of fancy piped potatoes, and my dad elbowed my mom and raised his eyes as if to say, "some of this at home, please."

We just bought a new, larger house in part because we do enjoy entertaining so much. We run the whole gamut from very casual to quite formal. I do so love to set a really formal table though - makes me happy. We gained an outdoor cooking station on the screened porch and an inground pool with the new house so I see a lot of casual outdoor parties coming up, too!

We had ten people for Saturday night dinner the first weekend we were in the house with boxes still everywhere. I really DO love to cook and have people over!

This is the way we still do it. The last time we had people over like this was twice in December before Christmas we had two groups of 6 (including us) on different nights for a Christmas meal as we don't see these people on Christmas Day. 

One night we had appetisers and drinks and then a roast meal with pork and/or turkey together with roast veg and all the trimmings. Dessert was either Christmas pudding with cream / custard or ice cream or individual black Forrest trifle. Cheese board was available for those who still were nibbling. 

The other night following appetisers we had a roast of lamb and/or turkey with roast vegetables with trimmings. Dessert was Christmas pudding as above or individual tropical trifles with mango and passion fruit. Cheese tray once again. 

The tables are set with pieces I had to have in the 90's for the sole purpose of entertaining and it all looks quite lovely and the guests always dress a little more than street casual and  I take it as a compliment that if I can go a little more they will dress accordingly. 

I just love entertaining like this and we don't anywhere near what we used to. 

Do it

One of my friends hosts a weekly dinner. I’ve described it as a dinner party like they did in the 70’s. She sets her table nicely and even tries to do fancy folded napkins. She used to cook the entire meal but we have evolved into each person contributing something. 

She usually hosts dinner on Saturday, but sometimes it’s Sunday. Last night’s dinner was manicotti. Sometimes we have appetizers, wine and/or dessert. We don’t really dress up though

The group of people is a fun and interesting mix. Some are former co-workers of either of the hosts, relatives and friends from various activities. We are different ages, ethnicities, life experiences, interests, etc and we have really developed great friendships within our expanded group. 

Some weeks we only have a few people, other weeks we’ve had more. Fondue night was just me and the hosts, but Independence day there were two tables we had so many people show up. Last night there were five of us. Six to eight seems to be the average amount. 

When I was married, we hosted a lot of dinner parties and other types of get togethers, but I don't do as much now that I'm single. We tend to gravitate to my sister's house instead. I do love to host dinners and a friend and I have talked about doing monthly dinners based on cooking classes that we've taken together. I love being a hostess and miss it. My parents live in my same apartment complex and we usually go back and forth for dinners but it's not quite the same.