video : Feature
How to Seat Your Dinner Guests
Seating people willy-nilly may work for prison cafeterias and campus dining halls, but when it comes to guests at your dinner party, put some thought into it. Follow these rules for optimal social interaction.
cute. basic but cute.
this is fantastic... i'll pass it on to all my virgin dinner host friends!
ha ha... basic & great tips in getting people to get closer.
Agree with stlSarah - basic and good general rules to follow but in some cases you have to break the rules. Here's when to break'em:
- new couple (way too in love to be separated)
- cramming them in results in breakage of rented stemware or bodily injury
- so many guests around the table that host can barely navigate out of their seat (nice and cosy!)
- keep vegetarian/vegan friends together (especially when host is unaware of non-meat eating guests)
Very entertaining. Simple and straight to the point. Well Done. We want more!
That was one of the silliest video I've seen in a long time.Unless you're having a dinner party for 6 year olds don't tell people where to sit!Llet adults sit where they want! They ARE adults! What if you don't know if someone has had a falling out? It's SO juvenile to tell adults where to sit! Next thing you'll be telling them What to talk about !
sorry but I soooo disagree with that!!! seating is soo important!!especially not sitting couples together .. that is a conversation killer. Even with a party of six I do a seating arrangemenat.. Exception to the rule are close friends.. this weekend I ended up with five women /one man at one table and 6 men and two women at another. For a semi casual affair I wouldnt do placecards.. but I shouold have directed better than say "sit anywhere"were all good friends.. but it was off..
I think seating guests at specific spots is great for a dinner party where the guests don't all know each other. You, the host, can match people on interests and personality and really make the table buzz. It also means the host is setting an example that the dinner is about meeting new people and opening up, rather than just going with what you know and sitting next to the one person you've already met last time.
Well not everyone likes to sit on the opposite sites of the table with the they came to the party. And the idea of flirting is not that interesting for either member of the couple and can inspire some arguments that can be a night killer. When I have a hot date if someone tries to separate me from it I will lets say talk not with my mouth.
What about for family? My husbands family does this for family meals and it irritates the shit out of some of us. Mostly the married in's. Isn't this kind of weird?
I get very upset whenever someone tries to seat my husband and I separately, especially when I don't know anyone else there. I am very shy and my husband is quite gregarious, so it is much easier for me to meet new people if I am with him. I simply don't ever join in social chit chat with a group of strangers. I require a "bridging person", either a friend who knows both me and the others there, or someone like my husband who knows me and is gregarious enough to instantly befriend others. I don't look at my socializing style as a problem that needs to be fixed. It is ideal for me as long as I have my requirements, such being seated with my husband or someone else I know. Not to mention that if my husband and I are in the same place, we're naturally going to be thinking of each other and drawn to each other, whether we're at home or out at a party. I mean, we wouldn't have gotten married if we didn't like being together! Come on! Forcing us to remain separated is just cruel. And unnatural.
Once my husband and I were both in a wedding party, and bridesmaids were seated separately from groomsmen. I barely knew the other bridesmaids. Plus my dress was uncomfortable. I was miserable the entire reception. Now that's the real conversation killer. I have no idea why the above poster thinks that seating couples together kills conversation. Are people afraid to talk to one partner in front of the other or something?
Frankly, if if a host tries to seat my husband and I separately, I will just leave.
Sounds like someone might be a difficult guest
I actually think it's kind of strange and uncomfortable when I am at a dinner party and the host/ess doesn't tell my husband and me where to sit. The "sit anywhere" thing is just waaaaaaay too casual for a nice dinner party. That being said, I agree that if my in-laws were doing this for informal dinners and family get-togethers such as Thanksgiving, I'd be annoyed, too! A good hostess will know that a shy person shouldn't be left on her own to "fend for herself" without a "bridge" person, but that bridge person should NOT be a spouse. If the only person you're comfortable with is your spouse... stay home with him then.
i always read and hear that couples should not be seated together. but i honestly cannot think of any reason why that's better. it seems like some old superstition that's been passed on through generations of party hosts that people feel they have to approve of simply because it's the standard.
if it's really important for the host to encourage conversation among the guests, then by all means, put some thought into who sits on everyone's "non-spouse" side, and arrange it that way.
Couples don't limit conversation when together. If anything, they build on each other to tell great stories and create great conversations.
Had a small dinner party (12) a few weeks ago. Most of the couples wound up next to each other and had a great time. the couple that was separate were not as outgoing and the husband wound up shrinking into a corner and not a part of conversation.
I am shy also and would not like to be separated. When we go to a party, we both make sure to be seated together. Even if that throws off the seating chart.
As for intentionally splitting them to encourage flirting. You have got to be joking. What better way could you find to end a marriage?
Great way to lead to fighting on the way home and for days to come.
Nice advice...
I never request help with the cleanup anyway...Lol!
Good seat assignment makes for a better event, but it can be a pain at bigger events. Thankfully there is seating assignment software to help:
http://www.perfecttableplan.com/