Hosting at home can be a rewarding (but demanding) experience. Well, here’s to taking some of that stress away. We’ve got some golden tips to help you prepare for your next gathering.

Choose meals with overlapping ingredients

When it comes to serving food, the key is to plan and prepare your ingredients as far in advance as possible. If you’re serving quite a few dishes, try to strategically choose so they have overlapping ingredients. This will minimise your preparation time.

To take it a step further, purchase pre-prepared foods from Coles. You could use these to make one-pan or one-pot dishes that won’t cause too much mess. For inspiration on easy recipes for entertaining, head here.

Time management is key

Consider freezing your meals to give yourself more time to work on things that need to be prepared for the day. You’ll find plenty of food storage and containers $2 Bargains Roxburgh Park. To be extra organised, label your dishes and pre-prepared ingredients so you can be speedier on the day, not fumbling about wondering what contains what. Run things like a professional kitchen would.

Grazing boards are saviours

Then grazing boards around your entertaining spaces, so guests never go hungry. To be extra considerate of your guests, have one cheese board and another non-dairy board. Fill will dips, chopped veggies, fresh fruit, chutneys, little sweets and more. Coco And Nuts Gourmet Grocery has plenty of goodies that are perfect for grazing boards. You can also stock up on actual serving boards at Better Home.

Create a hydration station

Don’t let your guests go thirsty – ensure they have easy access to a variety of drinks by having a designated drinks zone. Home Bargains has a range of beautiful glass beverage dispensers and jugs; add some fruit, mint and edible flowers to make them extra appealing. You can even pre-make and pour series of welcome drinks for people to collect on arrival for a special touch.

Create the perfect ambience

This is a good one to delegate. Set the mood with music, lighting and decor appropriate to your event. Place a speaker or two around your entertaining spaces and get your playlist sorted well before the event. To liven up your spaces, pick up some fresh blooms from Bountiful Courtyard Florist.

Put a ‘refresh’ basket in the bathroom

Sometimes when you pop to the bathroom mid-party and have a moment to yourself, you realise you could use a little refresh. Help guests up by setting up a refresh basket, with this such as deodorant, makeup wipes, cotton buds, disposable combs and even gum/ They’ll be impressed you thought ahead and thankful too!

Think about your numbers

Aa general guide, if you’re hosting less than 10 people, you can centre the event around your dining table. If you’re hosting between 10 and 20 people, space permitting, consider organising a buffet style setup. Guests are then free to serve themselves and have plenty of seating options scattered around the house. If you are hosting more than 20 people, a potluck backyard party may be the way to go. If you need extra seating, check out the chairs from Supercheap Auto.