Party Fail?

Matt and I went to a little get-together hosted by one of his co-workers last night and obviously, this man (and his wife) do not know how to host a party! I kind of caught onto these things as the night went on, but didn't say anything to Matt. He actually brought it up on the way home.  I guess we can all learn from him.

Lesson #1: Make enough food. There was about 10-15 people there last night and the host made about eight cheeseburgers and a plate full of chicken.  Of course, the burgers looked yummy, so by the time Matt had his turn to go through the line, they were gone. He was kind of disappointed. He said the chicken was still good though.

Lesson #2: Buy sturdy plates. If you are going to serve food on paper plates, then buy sturdy ones! The host had set out the cheapest paper plates from the store. I know this because I have bought them before and I don't anymore! The grease soaked through the plates and they were very hard to handle.

Lesson #3: Have a table to sit by (especially if you have your guests eating off of flimsy paper plates!).  After everybody had gotten their food, the adults all went outside. The host had some patio furniture for everybody to sit on. These were chairs and there were no tables. Everybody had to eat off of their laps, which is usually fine, but it was hard to do with these paper plates! Matt actually ended up eating while standing up! He said it was kind of a challenge.

Lesson #4. Have enough chairs for your guests to sit. Enough said.

Lesson #5. The host goes through the line last. Usually a host sets all the food out and lets his/ her guests go first. Guess who went through the line first last night?? The host! I had never seen that before!!

Lesson #6  If you invite children over and they need to eat, at least have SOME idea where they can sit. Remember, no table, not enough chairs, and poor quality paper plates. I stood there with Micah and looked around. Again, usually the host will help you find a place. But nope. I had to figure it out myself. 

I also had another problem is that the host had two big dogs, which I was fine with, but I didn't want to put Micah on the floor to eat in his chair with a tray (remember, no chairs anywhere) and then have the dogs eat all his food. I graciously asked the host if I could just put Micah on the floor inside the house and the dogs could stay outside. They nodded their approval, so that is what we did. I sat inside with Micah while everybody else sat outside. It was sooo odd.

Lesson #7 If you have nothing for the kids to do, at least know how to work your TV! Christian had been outside for awhile and he needed to come into the house to cool off. I thought he could watch some TV (this couple had no kids, so therefore, there were no toys or anything kid-friendly in the house.) I asked the host how to work the TV and he had no idea. He said his wife always watches TV down there. He eventually figured it out for us.

Christian loves the Weather Channel lately, so I found that for him. We watched "Why Airplanes Crash" until we left.  The host mentioned maybe we could watch Disney or something like that. I said those shows don't interest Christian at all! He loves these scientific ones!

I am hosting a party next Sunday for Christian's birthday. I hope I have enough food, provide quality plates, and have enough seats for everybody!!! :)