Close your eyes and think back to the happiest moments of your life. What do you see?
For me, it’s the sound of clinking glasses and unabashed laughter mixed with a unanimous ‘pass the salt!’
Imagine hosting a spontaneous Sunday breakfast at your home. Now, imagine a morning split between good food, coffee and memorable conversations. I don’t let these moments get lost on account of trying to do everything on my own. My kids readily volunteer to mash the potatoes or play host if I’m in the kitchen. My friends usually pitch in by bringing the eggs or helping me set the table. It’s the act of doing these together that really makes it count in the end, more than how perfectly I followed the recipe. It’s your family and friends pretending to enjoy the imperfect salad you decided to experiment with, only to look back and laugh about it later. It’s listening to your friend tell the same story at every group dinner for the millionth time, realising how incomplete it would be without it. I wouldn’t want to miss any of it.
This summer, throw a big homely gathering. Don’t let the menu intimidate you, or the idea of the perfect table stop you. Keep it simple and accept help. There is nothing quite as joyous as bumping into all your sisters in the kitchen trying to perfect the dressing on the salad.
Start with making sure you have everything you may need at an arm’s reach. Then clear up your dining table for a buffet-style meal. Keep essentials like a set of extra cutlery, plates and napkins handy. Don’t forget the salt and pepper! Have multiple glasses and a water dispenser arranged on a side table. You can even use a side console as your water-and-dessert counter. Use large trays to bring out and serve the meals and let your guests serve themselves. Not only will this make things easier, but you’ll also be able to share another story in those saved moments and enjoy an added minute of carefreeness.
When I look back to these family dinners or simply friends coming together, I remember how hysterical it was fighting over the last piece of pizza or attempting to move after eating too much of that delicious cake. I’ll remember these moments more than how perfect my place setting was. I’ll remember to tell my children the stories I never got tired of. And someday, just like me, it’ll be a memory that my children will recreate in their new homes and on their dinning tables.
The Author is a celebrity interior decorator and style editor at The Label Life.
