My hubby and I are BIG on hosting people in our home. We honestly feel that there aren’t many things better in life than opening up your home to your friends and connecting over food. This has been something we’ve practiced for years and it seems that in this last year, where life has gotten somewhat chaotic, we haven’t done this as much.
So recently we made a plan to start being more intentional about having people in our home again. To truly connect with our friends/our tribe of people and love on them while enjoying some amazing food. We don’t have a huge house. In fact, this home is smaller than our last home. We have a tiny yard and our playroom isn’t much bigger. But you know what, none of that matters. Instead of focusing on what I DON’T have, I want to focus on what I DO have: a home, that I love, that God provided and that I am able to raise my kids in while blessing my friends who enter into it. Sometimes I think we come up with all kinds of excuses of why we can’t do certain things and I am guilty of that as well. I wrote a post a while back about how we need to stop apologizing for the imperfections in our home and sometimes, we just plain need to stop apologizing for our home period. (If you didn’t catch that post, you can read it here).
So with that said, we are having our first official dinner party of the summer and I am SO excited! We are having some friends over whom we haven’t had here before and they love any kind of food. We thought BBQ would be nice and so I came up with the idea to have it a Greek-inspired dinner party.
I will for sure be seeking my mother-in-law’s help with some of the recipes (she’s the one who made me fall in love with Greek food as she cooks THE BEST greek dishes I’ve ever had!). But I also decided to scour the interwebs to find some fabulous decor ideas and a few twists on traditional recipes.
Tablescapes & Party Details
While I know some might think this is crazy fancy for a dinner party, I love the idea of dressing up your table a little something extra, to make it special for your guests. I will fully admit that I have served dinner out-of-the-pot, on paper plates before, however, there are times where a little bit of extra effort can take your dinner from regular to fabulous in no time flat! With just some olive branches and white flowers, these tables are completely transformed into a Grecian dreamland.
I love the idea of having menu cards for your dinner party. Again, just a little added effort can do a long way to make your guests feel extra special. Also, having a little party favor is an added bonus that will have your guests remembering and talking about your party for months on end. Think about it for a minute: we usually BRING something as a guest to a hostess as a sign to say “Thank you for having us.” But in the same way as with a wedding where they give party favors to their guests, why would we not give out a little something special to the guests in our house to say “Thank you for breaking bread with me in my home.” I think it just shows your guests how much you value and love them and it really doesn’t have to cost much to make a lasting impression.
Food Inspirations
One of my all-time favorite foods are olives. Which is kinda funny because one of the only things my husbands HATES are olives. I wonder if olives are that polarizing for most people: you either love them or hate them? How do you feel about olives? Leave your answer in the comments below. Anyways, this olive, oil/balsamic vinegar and bread display looks just divine and would be the perfect appetizer for your guests as dinner is being finished.
I absolutely LOVE Greek salad. I think it’s the feta that makes it absolute perfection. My hubby and I coined a phrase years ago that goes “Feta makes it beta!” As “cheesy” as that sounds (see what I did there), it’s so true! Feta on just about anything and I’m sold. Same with avocado, my new food love. I think that’s why these two recipes stood out to me while planning. I love the idea of a twist on the traditional Greek salad with arugula and spiralized cucumbers (gotta get a spiralizer!). I also love the idea of an updated version of tzatziki dip for your chicken kabobs. Yum-my!
Well, I’m off to shop for my menu items and I cannot wait to share with you how this dinner party turns out! Who are you inviting into your home this week?
Love & Blessings,
