Hosting & Gatherings

I Like Making a Fuss

Why I enjoy hosting friends at home, from tidying and baking a cake to making three courses and spoiling the people who visit.

Photo needed: A table set for guests, mid-preparation for a dinner at home.

If you come over, I will probably have vacuumed before you arrive.

I will have cleaned the loo, wiped down a few surfaces and put things away. There will be something nice to eat. I might have bought it, or I might have baked a cake.

And if you are coming for dinner, I will usually try to make a starter, a main course and dessert.

I like spoiling people when they visit. The preparation is part of the pleasure for me: getting the house ready and choosing something lovely to share. I enjoy making a visit feel like an occasion.

Getting the house ready is part of my welcome

The tidying happens almost automatically when I know someone is coming. I vacuum, clean the toilet and go over the surfaces that need attention.

Those are small, practical things, but they matter to me. I like knowing that the house is ready when I open the door. Then I can welcome someone into a space I have taken care of and offer them something I have thought about.

If your own preparations are different, they can still serve the same purpose. Give someone a comfortable place to sit, a clean bathroom and a welcome that feels like you.

I want there to be something delicious

Something nice to eat is another part of having people over that I enjoy. Sometimes that means buying a treat. Sometimes I want to bake a cake.

There is pleasure in choosing something, and pleasure in making it. I would happily leave room for both. If baking is what you feel like doing, a visit gives you a reason to get the cake tin out and someone to share the result with.

Choose a cake you enjoy making, or something from a bakery that you think your guest will like. Check any food needs before deciding. The point is to have something you can offer with pleasure and eat together.

The Art of Everyday Baking

If you are staying for dinner, I will think about dessert

I try to make three courses when people come to eat. A starter, a main and a dessert feel like a lovely way to look after someone for an evening.

That is a preference I genuinely have. I like making the effort because I want people to feel spoiled when they are here.

If you enjoy offering a full meal too, think about when each dish will need your attention. A starter that can be ready before the doorbell, a familiar main and a dessert prepared earlier are useful possibilities. They let you offer several courses while keeping some time to sit with your guests.

The Art of a Simple Seasonal Menu

A Winter Supper You Can Sit Down To

Make the occasion suit the person

The food and the setting can be as generous as you want to make them. What matters is that the person coming over can enjoy them.

Ask what they can eat. Choose something that suits the visit. Leave space for the conversation you wanted to have when you invited them.

If you love cooking, make a meal. If you love baking, make a cake. If choosing something delicious is the part you enjoy, go and find it. There is room to take pleasure in doing something for another person.

For me, a little preparation and something lovely to eat belong naturally to having visitors. I will tidy up. I will think about what to offer. I will probably consider dessert before anyone has arrived.

I like making a fuss.

Especially when there is someone to enjoy it with.