Sunday, my favorite person in the world and I hosted Easter dinner for fourteen people. Behold, the aftermath.
Prior to Easter, I had china service for eight. When I realized that ten adults and two kids were coming over, I scrambled to find more china. I saved over $80 off the retail price of my china pattern by buying new place settings online. I contacted an eBay seller who had listed two place settings in separate Buy It Now listings, and asked her if she would discount the shipping if I purchased both. When the seller found out that I actually needed four place settings, she suggested that we simply do a PayPal sale for all of the items I needed instead of separate eBay sales for the pieces she had listed. We completed the sale, and UPS delivered four new place settings to me on Good Friday.
Next, I tackled kid dishes and seating. The kids typically eat earlier than the adults, so I decided against purchasing china for them. (My favorite person in the world suggested that, while these particular kids are rather sophisticated, dinnerware was a more practical choice for the four and six year old siblings.) I decided to make a very special kid table that could be easily cleared once the kids had been fed. I used a white paper table cloth to cover an Ikea Lack side table that usually functions as a nightstand in our guest bedroom. I set the table with black salad plates on top of striped dinner plates used as chargers, and completed the place settings with linen napkins and salad forks. Since the kids love sparkling cider, (which they call "kid wine"), we added champagne flutes to the table as a grown-up detail. The pièce de résistance was a Jonathan Adler bud vase, which complimented the miniature table features.
Then it was time to resolve our lack of adult seating. Our dining table comfortably seats four, but we squeeze in six for holiday dinners. I needed a table to seat six more people. The day before our party, I remembered that there was an abandoned table in the garage that we share with our neighbor. After confirming with the neighbor that the table was not his, my favorite person in the world and I carefully liberated the table from the garage for the party. I cleaned it up, covered it with a table cloth, and gathered extra chairs from around the apartment for seating.
In New York and DC, I lived in small apartments with insufficient storage space for party supplies. I had to rely on disposable cups, napkins, and flatware. Now that I have more storage space, I am transitioning to reusable party supplies, (especially after reading this). My favorite person in the world picked up six cases of champagne flutes at Ikea when we first moved here, and we bought additional water and old-fashioned glasses, linen napkins, and forks at Bed Bath and Beyond before the party. Our kitchen counter space in Not New York is still limited, so I controlled the dirty dish situation by using small, lidded plastic tubs as bus bins. These were a lifesaver. I filled them with water and dishwashing liquid, and left the dishes to soak while the party continued. When I finished cleaning after the party, I used the bins to store the extra party supplies.
It was a great party, filled with laughter, revelry, and the occasional squeal of "Come to the living room! The skipping show is about to start!" Now if I can just convince my favorite person in the world that our next event should be a murder mystery costume party...
Notes: Asking a buyer or seller to cancel an eBay listing and arrange a transaction on the canceled item outside of eBay is a violation of the website's policies; the seller and I did not violate eBay's rules because we negotiated a sale for items she had not yet listed on eBay. The original Buy It Now listings were unaffected by our transaction.
Bed Bath and Beyond sells individual pieces of 18/10 stainless steel flatware, which is a great resource for party forks and knives.
The Lack side table represents everything that is wrong with Ikea, but it is a handy kid table for $8.
The table in our garage is really heavy. I hurt my back carrying it up the stairs. My favorite person and one of our friends had a hard time hauling it back to the garage after the party. Before our next party, I want to find a gateleg table that we can store in the guestroom. Ikea makes one for $179 and Crate and Barrel makes one for $299. I'm confident I can find a used one on Craigslist for about $50 to $75.
Prior to Easter, I had china service for eight. When I realized that ten adults and two kids were coming over, I scrambled to find more china. I saved over $80 off the retail price of my china pattern by buying new place settings online. I contacted an eBay seller who had listed two place settings in separate Buy It Now listings, and asked her if she would discount the shipping if I purchased both. When the seller found out that I actually needed four place settings, she suggested that we simply do a PayPal sale for all of the items I needed instead of separate eBay sales for the pieces she had listed. We completed the sale, and UPS delivered four new place settings to me on Good Friday.
Next, I tackled kid dishes and seating. The kids typically eat earlier than the adults, so I decided against purchasing china for them. (My favorite person in the world suggested that, while these particular kids are rather sophisticated, dinnerware was a more practical choice for the four and six year old siblings.) I decided to make a very special kid table that could be easily cleared once the kids had been fed. I used a white paper table cloth to cover an Ikea Lack side table that usually functions as a nightstand in our guest bedroom. I set the table with black salad plates on top of striped dinner plates used as chargers, and completed the place settings with linen napkins and salad forks. Since the kids love sparkling cider, (which they call "kid wine"), we added champagne flutes to the table as a grown-up detail. The pièce de résistance was a Jonathan Adler bud vase, which complimented the miniature table features.
The kid table
Then it was time to resolve our lack of adult seating. Our dining table comfortably seats four, but we squeeze in six for holiday dinners. I needed a table to seat six more people. The day before our party, I remembered that there was an abandoned table in the garage that we share with our neighbor. After confirming with the neighbor that the table was not his, my favorite person in the world and I carefully liberated the table from the garage for the party. I cleaned it up, covered it with a table cloth, and gathered extra chairs from around the apartment for seating.
The abandoned table, before its makeover
Post-party bins with extra glassware and linens
It was a great party, filled with laughter, revelry, and the occasional squeal of "Come to the living room! The skipping show is about to start!" Now if I can just convince my favorite person in the world that our next event should be a murder mystery costume party...
Notes: Asking a buyer or seller to cancel an eBay listing and arrange a transaction on the canceled item outside of eBay is a violation of the website's policies; the seller and I did not violate eBay's rules because we negotiated a sale for items she had not yet listed on eBay. The original Buy It Now listings were unaffected by our transaction.
Bed Bath and Beyond sells individual pieces of 18/10 stainless steel flatware, which is a great resource for party forks and knives.
The Lack side table represents everything that is wrong with Ikea, but it is a handy kid table for $8.
The table in our garage is really heavy. I hurt my back carrying it up the stairs. My favorite person and one of our friends had a hard time hauling it back to the garage after the party. Before our next party, I want to find a gateleg table that we can store in the guestroom. Ikea makes one for $179 and Crate and Barrel makes one for $299. I'm confident I can find a used one on Craigslist for about $50 to $75.
Ooh! Using the lidded tubs to soak dishes during the party and store dishes afterward is a wonderful idea!
ReplyDeleteI definitely made a point of investing in re-usable plates, napkins, and serving-ware for parties. Having the bins will make everything that much easier...
Thanks for the tip!