How much do you "entertain"?

[ZipperJJ]

I watch a lot of television shows about houses. Buying houses, renovating houses, building houses, decorating houses, etc. In every one of those shows, people are wanting to buy/renovate/build/decorate so they could "entertain" more. Have dinner parties, barbecues, whatever. They want big open kitchens, fancy patios, large dining rooms, humongous family rooms...all for the sake of entertaining.

My brother is getting married and his gift registry (his and hers, actually) is mostly stuff for entertaining - large bowls, sets of glassware, serving stuff. I have seen this on other wedding gift registries too (granted, they are both older and established and not in need of much "first home" sort of stuff).

Am I missing out on something here? I have never been to a dinner party. I have never had any friends that had regular party nights. I have never been to a party for a party's sake.

Do people really entertain this much? Or...do they say they want to and just never get around to it? Is it something only rich people do? People with kids? Married or co-habitating people? People older than me?

Who out there is really entertaining?

[Athena]

We have people (family, mostly) over maybe twice a month. I like having a house big enough to accommodate that. It's also nice on holidays to fit 12 people around the table or whatever.

More important than that, though, is "entertaining" ourselves. We *like* our house. We like the space, the view, etc. etc. That's enough for us to justify having a nice pad.

[Debaser]

My wife and I "entertain" fairly frequently. Sometimes it's just for a couple of friends, or it might be a dozen people. It's nice to be able to host people and cook for them. It's fun.

My parents are huge into entertaining. My mom's actually considered buying a set of 100 plates and silverware so she won't have to rent them so often. They bring it to a whole different level. They've got the house for it, and like having 50 or 100 people over for a party.

To the OP: You've never been to a party before without a reason?

:confused:

What's the weather like on Vulcan these days, anyway?

;)

[Shagnasty]

I don't think people do it that much. It is just one of those things that sticks as a dream in their head. We have actual parties about 3 - 4 times a year usually on holidays. We have had a few dinner parties as well in the past 5 years. We have about 40 crystal wine glasses, crystal punch bowls, and lots more. You get the idea. A lot of that stuff sounds and looks much nicer than it is useful.

[AuntiePam]

We "entertained" a lot after we moved back to Iowa, reconnecting with friends and relatives. Nothing formal though --buffets or a chili feed or a potluck. It helped that our first house was good for that kind of thing. Large rooms, huge kitchen with an island.

The rooms are small in our present house (especially the kitchen) and having any kind of gathering is difficult. So all we do is the required holiday dinners. Plus, I'm tired of those people. :)

I can understand wanting a house with a layout that's conducive to having people over, if you're the sociable type.

We never called it "entertaining" though. I've only heard that term used on TV.

[Kalhoun]

I entertain 4-5 times a year, and I don't have the space for it. My rooms are small. Good thing my family is, too.

A lot of people do business entertaining. I've never fallen into that category.

[Eonwe]

27 year old renter here.

I have some friends who have "parties" a lot. I say "parties," but it's more like a casual get together for poker, or to watch the oscars, or whatever. Probably not really "entertaining" in the full sense of the word.

My roommates and I like to cook, and we actually have people over relatively often for meals. We eat off of cheap, mis-matched hand-me-down plates, and don't really have room for more than 10-12 people, and to accomidate that many we need to spill into the living room.

[Eliphalet]

We have people over 2-3 times per week. Some are almost family, and others are friends.

We do larger dinners once a month or so. 6-30 people, depending on the event.

Eli

[ZipperJJ]

To the OP: You've never been to a party before without a reason?


Yeah man, you heard me :) I've been to lots of parties - but you know, Halloween parties, New Year's parties, birthday parties, someone-is-moving-out-of-state parties, stuff like that. But never "it's Thursday and we have a lot of nice stemware" parties.

[alice_in_wonderland]

I entertain quite a bit. Sometimes for holiday type events (eg, Thanksgiving, Easter, X-mas) but usually just for fun. I had an Iron Chef night where everyone brought a dish ala pot-luck and we hogged out and watched a bunch of taped episodes of Iron Chef (the original, not the America one). I'll have Superbowl, Grey Cup, Stanley Cup parties, etc.

I really like cooking and I really like having people over. I'll be able to do it more now that I've finally finished school. It will be nice to not feel guilty about not studying when I'm menu planning. :)

[Sapo]

30's, married, two kids, certainly not rich.

We "entertain" at the very least once a month. Nothing terribly fancy, about 10 people (2 or 3 couples plus children, not always the same), no special occasion. We meet just because. We cook something (menus vary greatly from hot dogs to fine dining to bbq), talk some, let the kids play, everybody goes home.

Disposable plates are sometimes used, but not often.

It is all about seeing the people in a no stress situation (work, holidays, funerals)

[ZipperJJ]

So here's another question...

If you entertain, do your friends entertain too? Like, do you spend every friggin day going around to parties at different peoples' houses OR is entertaining YOUR thing and everyone enjoys coming over?

See I think what I am thinking here is that if everyone (on TV) likes to entertain...who is left to be entertained? :)

[frog princess]

My husband and I have friends over at least once a week. I'm not sure I'd call it entertaining though. Wednesday night at my house is pool night, which is anywhere from 5 to 20 people in my basement, drinking beer and eating snacks and deserts, potluck. Every Friday we go to R&S's house for board games and every Saturday is K&C's house for Texas hold'em.

[lieu]

We just frequently (once every week or two) seem to have a lot of people in the house, planned or not. Neighbors will stop by, friends will want to stop in when driving through town, relatives in for holidays, to see the grandchild or going to the med center, etc. So we just keep things ready to entertain at a moments notice. The living room has plenty of seating, same for the patio. The grill is extra large, tons of plates, glasses, etc. Lots of champagne, beer, whatever in the fridge and scotch, mixes etc in the cupboard. And there's never a time I go to the store when I don't load up on hors derves (sp?); cheeses, hard meats, chips, spreads, caviars, juices and kid snacks, etc.

While we like our downtime and privacy, it's pretty easy to stay in sudden party mode.

[Phlosphr]

My wife and I are minus any children, and we like to entertain. In reality we probably entertain every other month, unless it's summer and we tend to have more people over. We have a big house and a decently large back yard - we're preparing for the brood - and we like to have friends and family over. Like Lieu we've got the goodies in the house in case people stop over...and I love grilling so we do quite a bit of that, and we have a fire pit with a well maintained firewood area...if I do say so for myself. And there's just something about fires....

[Caridwen]

As little as I possible can. I'm not anti-social but the older I get the less I like my house getting dirty or my things ruined.

[Velma]

We like to entertain and our group of friends all do it a lot. We kind of take turns hosting, sometimes it is a dinner party, sometimes it is something like a baby shower or a book club. We recently had a wine tasting party and that was fun. In the summer we get together and grill a lot. One of our projects this summer is to build a deck and finish the back yard so we can host more. We don't do tons of formal dinner parties that involve lots of prep or expense, but once in a while we will do that too. We are hosting a dinner party this Sat, actually. I just got a Raclette grill and we are going to try that out.

We have a pretty wide circle of aquaintances and a smaller tight circle of a few couples. We all mix together well and know each other's friends so it is fun to get together for stuff. We have a few couples we know from college, we all live within a few miles of each other and all have small toddler age boys so we do lots of stuff together, and even vacation together every summer. So we have people over a lot and go to people's houses a lot. It helps that we are all kind of food and wine lovers and like to try new things together.

[TroubleAgain]

We usually have a big Christmas party every year or two. I had a party for my 40th birthday, also. My parties are usually pretty casual, bring-a-dish, beer-and-bonfire, adults only kind of things. I have part of my family over for dinner near Christmas every year, too, and I cook for them. I love having people over, but it exhausts me (I'm an introvert and like to have lots of down time/time with no one around).

We have one couple we're friends with who do a New Year's party every year that's very similar to ours, except inclusive of kids.

And another couple has a party every couple of months using the pay-per-view UFC fights as a basis. They fix foods and a buncha guys come, and sometimes the wives go, too. I like those parties because I like the couple and most of their friends (but not so much for the fight).

Other than that, it's mostly family gatherings at my mom's house, or his sister's.

[Waverly]

I entertain once a week or so, but almost never at my house. No matter how nice my kitchen, dining room, or entertainment center, I just don’t see the appeal. I’d rather be out and about. If I entertain at home, it’s my hope that it’s in the bedroom.

[Sapo]

So here's another question...

If you entertain, do your friends entertain too? Like, do you spend every friggin day going around to parties at different peoples' houses OR is entertaining YOUR thing and everyone enjoys coming over?

See I think what I am thinking here is that if everyone (on TV) likes to entertain...who is left to be entertained? :)
The same people who normally come to our house, normally have us over at their places. Not everybody hosts with the same frequency but it does rotate around.

[msmith537]

We don't entertain because our place is too small (1 BR condo my GF and I share). I have a few NYC appartment dwelling friends who do throw parties from time to time. Typically they live in a 3 BR with two other guys so they have the room. More often, people get together in restaurants, bars or lounges for socializing.

It seems to me that "entertaining" is more common out in the burbs where people have houses. They generally have fewer bars out there and they tend to be sketchier. Not to mention if you can drink at home and not have to drive anywhere, that's always a plus.

[Lissla Lissar]

Hmm. I think I've had two actual invite people type parties. We have friends over all the time- usually three times or so a week, and anywhere between one and eight people. These are, however, our 'You know where the damn glasses are' friends.

We don't have much space, and I don't have fancy dinnerware. I love having people over, though. Especially if they wash dishes after I cook dinner.

We have a one-bedroom apartment, quite small, and we had fourteen people over for drinks and finger food a few weeks ago. I was astonished that everyone fit.

[Anaamika]

Never. I hate entertaining. My parents used to be huge entertainers, though, and I've been to plenty of parties-without-a-reason.

[Antinor01]

It is very rare for anyone to be in my house that doesn't live there. So no, I don't entertain at home.

[overlyverbose]

We have family and friends over about 2-3 times a month. This month has been unusually busy - we had family stay over the weekend, family is here now until tomorrow, then more family next week from Monday to Wednesday. We generally only have about 2-3 parties per year, but we have small groups of people over far more frequently than that.

Our various sets of friends entertain about 1-2 times a year each as well, so we usually go to a party about once a month, usually more around Halloween and the various winter holidays.

I love entertaining, though it's a lot different with an almost toddler than it was when we didn't have kids, obviously. My attention is far more split than it used to be, so it's fun but not quite as much fun because mentally I'm a bit more absent, but I'm sure that'll change when he can be trusted not to chew on power cords. ;)

[CairoCarol]

Our entertainment schedule is erratic -- from August through December last year I hosted 6 or 8 dinner parties and I thought I might go insane. But reasons kept coming up.

Sadly, "entertaining" is a meme that is firmly stuck in the members of my generation (I'm 48). I used to watch my mother run frantically around the house like a greyhound on amphetamines getting ready for big parties at our house, and I swore I would NEVER do that dumb thing.

And yet, I do (albeit as infrequently as possible). And all my friends do as well. Then you have to reciprocate, so it turns into a truly vicious cycle.

The best parties are the ones that just happen because a few friends stop by on the way home from work, then another friend calls and you say "hey, join us" and you eat leftover chips and dips out of a Tupperware container.

[Lissla Lissar]

The best parties are the ones that just happen because a few friends stop by on the way home from work, then another friend calls and you say "hey, join us" and you eat leftover chips and dips out of a Tupperware container.
Yes.

[dalej42]

My brother is getting married and his gift registry (his and hers, actually) is mostly stuff for entertaining - large bowls, sets of glassware, serving stuff. I have seen this on other wedding gift registries too (granted, they are both older and established and not in need of much "first home" sort of stuff).Who out there is really entertaining?


Actually, I think your own post answered a bit of the question. They're not in desperate need of day-to-day stuff. What they're looking for are the types of things that they'll want every now and then. I've got one set of everyday glassware and dishes and another set of nicer items. I hate spending money on the things I only use a few times a year, if that.

My entertaining varies widely from year to year. I'll have people over several times a year in one year, often in another, and rarely in another. But, I like having an ok selection of appropriate items to use when I have groups over.

If I want to replace my day-to-day stuff, I'd rather wait for a good sale and then do it.

[coruscate [sparkle, brilliant]]

I entertain once every two weeks. I'm in two "amateur gourmet" clubs sponsored by the American Association of University Women.
Each has 4 couples hosting in rotation once a month.

It certainly keeps the downstairs of the house tidy, although I usually bar guests from wandering upstairs.

[jellyblue]

We throw one big party a year, usually a cocktail party with a theme. Really, I like to have a chance to try out new recipes and decorate, and I go all out - party favors and everything. Well, okay, I go "all out" for everything. I had my mom and 90 year old grandfather over easter morning and it turned from "come over for a cup of coffee" into crab asparagus omelets and a homebaked coffeecake. With a centerpiece. :o It's a sickness, I can't help it. But our house, while not large, is good for entertaining. It has vaulted ceilings and doors out onto a patio so it feels larger and it's easy for people to mingle. They still coagulate in the kitchen though :rolleyes: . And Jellychick LOVES to clean, so that helps a lot. I make messes and she cleans them.

[ZipperJJ]

Well you guys have inspired me! I am going to "entertain" some folks in a couple weeks in honor of my brother's 30th birthday. No formal invites, just phone calls.

Now, let's see if they all fit in my house :)

[dangermom]

We like to have people over for dinner every so often, but we don't often throw big parties. One problem is that we own 5 chairs, so it's a little difficult to have more than 2 people over at a time. We need to fix that!

[madmonk28]

When we still lived in the states, my wife and I liked to entertain about twice a month. Usually it was 4-6 friends for drinks, maybe dinner, sometimes we'd play cards or have drinks and go out to dinner. We live in the city (Washington), if that matters. It's a little easier to entertain when everyone lives a few blocks from each other.

We don't really have fancy events, but it is nice to have decent serving bowls, plates, etc. for company. For us, that means matching flatware, unchipped plates, and candles. For me, having people over and making it somewhat special is one of the nice things about being an adult.

[Rigamarole]

I definitley would, if I wasn't poor and living in a studio apartment. And had friends.