What are the 'must haves' for the perfect hostess?

[LesleyKnopeFan]

I have a nice cake slice, lots of good serving dishes, small olives/nut/sauce dishes, red/white wine, champagne, spirit and craft beer glasses that's about it.

I want the whole kit and caboodle.

On my list to procure is:

Cake forks
Butter knives
Cake plate/stand with cover
Tea cups and saucers
Champagne saucers
Cream jug
Tea/cake plates

What am I missing?

You know that charity shops are your friend for this kind of stuff? They've ALWAYS got cake forks, decanters, jugs, sets of all kinds of glasses...

evertonmint the perfect definition!

Yes evertonmint, definitely correct.

I have a set from John Lewis and they took me a long while to find.

There is no excuse for ugly placemats

Oh ladies.

I love having people for dinner ... with some fava beans and a nice chianti ;)

OP you are after my heart. I have a house full of hosting paraphernalia.

My OH's Grandad calls me a perfect hostess, many of OH's family tell me how much I am like his Grandmother I love this comparison I never had the pleasure of meeting her but like me she would only cook with full fat milk and butter NOT margarine. I am a feeder.

Being a fabulous hostess is NOT about what I own, it is not how I fold my napkins, nor is it the fact I arranged those flowers myself, it is not that everything is sparkling and clean NO... it is not that I am busy filling glasses the moment you walk through the door or my canapés are freshly made by myself...

What makes me a good hostess is I am pleased to have you in my home, I want you to be comfortable, I want YOU to enjoy the evening, I have done my stressing before you arrive (actually I was in my element making sure everything is just right) Now you are here, I am telling you to kick off your heals, asking what Music you would like playing in the background,

Nothing matches in my house, and this is deliberate but every course has it's own items which match or contrast.

My great maiden aunt was a Mayoress, I have her 1850's transfer print dinner service and I love it, no one else in the family wanted it, I nearly took my Mums hand off in the process of being offered and accepting it. If anything were to get broken... it would be sad but I have lots more of it, settings for 16 and a table for 6 :)

I have recently acquired pastry forks and teaspoons from PortMeirion Botantic's blue collection. I collect napkins and every meal I spend ages on how I am going to fold them. I also have an extensive collection of glasses and decanters but they are just things it is not what is on the table but who is around it

Today, I have just got some cheese knives and spreaders from another of Port Meirions collection.

It is an expensive hobby, but and this is true I have been known to serve items on scallop shells and have used a china muppets dolls service for desserts, that was one of the best meals I ever produced.

People don't come to see what you own, they don't even come to see how well you cook, they come to spend time with you, enjoy your meals with friends, enjoy collecting things but remember it is your sparkling personality that makes you a good host and not your sparkling crystal.

x x x

YouMakeMyHeartSmile blimey! Have you by any chance tried the one available for £40 from Lidl? It seems a bit too good to be true.

Echo pps - flutes for fizz! Also a wine cooler to keep open bottles of white wine cool without filling the fridge door and some of the chiller sleeves you keep in the freezer - you can chill a bottle in five to ten minutes using one of those.

My retro item is an insulated ice bucket with tongs that slot into the lid (inherited) - they really work and it means people can help themselves to ice and you don't have to keep going to the freezer every time you get a round of drinks.

Haven't tried it archery but have heard good things about it!
IL's live in Spain and they always bring us a leg when they drive over. We had one in the evening at our wedding.

This thread is so calming to read.

I am one of those who has never bought placemats because I can't find the perfect ones.

Monkay I think I love you!

When I get invited I don't notice tha fancy plates or glasses but the food is essential. Get yourself some fancy hors d'oeuvre recepies and somethings you can keep ready for any surprise guest like olives stuffed with almonds. A friend once served blinis with whipped cheese and glavlax, I have absolutely no recolection of hoe the table was set, but those divine blinis are engraved in my mind.

Nice candlesticks and decent quality linen o cotton damask table cloths and proper napkins. I have solid silver napkin ring holders but they were an engagement gift from the PILs, i would probably never have bought them.

Beautiful crystal glasses.

All my plates and bowls for entertaining are plain white, (I just find it easier to not get sucked in by colour/pattern fads that date and I get bored with, plus I think the food looks better on a plain white.) I do occasionally hanker after some lovely rustic, colourful mismatched stuff but I usually just buy serving dishes and little tapas bowls and the like, for casual buffets or barbecues. Sitting down at the table with proper stuff, it really needs to be a white theme for me. I have about four or five different shapes/types of plates and bowls, some of them I can only use if there are 6 of us, some I can serve up to 16 on. It really bugs me if I have to give a couple of people a plate that doesn't match everyone else's.

Do you have any amuse bouche spoons or dishes? I do. I have never yet served an amuse bouche but I like to know I can if I want to.

I have a raclette set which I love for days when I want to entertain but don't have time to cook properly.

I have a few of those very cheap but lovely table runners from IKEA and they add some colour and contrast to the table when laid over the plain white table cloth, with the candles etc on top.

Where do you all stand on plate chargers? I have some friends who always use them and they look quite funky but really good ones are expensive and so many are cheap and plasticky that I have never felt the need to succumb.

I think a slate for cheese is pretty essential and I massively hanker after one of those huge wooden 'paddle' boards with a handle for laying out antipasti and charcuterie and tapas and whatnot.

Look for placemats in on-line museum shops. I've still got my DM's Tutankamun ones from the 70s! I also like my food warmers with tea lights inside from Lakeland. They work! Otherwise nice tablecloth, napkins, candlesticks etc. ive also got antique champagne saucers (as well as modern flutes), you just have to drink the champagne fast

JusthavinAbreak - Am sure that you are very nice too. ;)

At the risk of giving myself away these are a few of the pictures I came across straight away from my harddrive. Feeding people is an obsession of mine.

I use plastic chargers from time to time, I particularly like to use the lime green and bright pink ones together. I prefer my granite or slate place mats but these are not always appropriate and aren't much fun.

I have painted some chargers at my local pottery painting cafe. Somewhere I have some beautiful wooden ones, which I have never used they take up too much room on my table but I do love them.

Drinking Champagne fast, I like your style Davros.

Monkaycan I come & live with you?