Three Tricks on How to Entertain Like a Pro

This post has been sponsored by TRISCUIT. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I love any excuse for a get-together. Whether the party is large or small, it’s always fun to have a reason to fluff the throw pillows, break out my favorite candles and spend longer than normal arranging a cheese and Triscuit board as an appetizer.

There tends to be a small brood of people who come over for our gatherings, and when ten people are clustered in one room, it starts to get noisy and a bit crowded. I’ve found using this simple entertaining hack, I can avoid an overcrowded room and keep people motivated to spend time with others.

How to Entertain Like a Pro

My prep for our recent dinner party started like normal: planning a seasonal menu, heading to Kroger, trying to convince myself I was justified spending $14 on one local cheese, picking up my favorite TRISCUIT Crackers (Original and Cracked Pepper & Olive Oil) and spending way too long contemplating what bunch of flowers I was going to bring home before checking out.

How to Entertain Like a Pro How to Entertain Like a Pro

My boyfriend and I are on our umpteenth iteration of hosting people over for dinner and the night typically goes like this:

Friends come over. We make friends cocktails. I pull out the pre-prepped Cheese and TRISCUIT  Crackers and then everyone gathers around the coffee table in the living room, sticking next to their significant other and chatting until dinner is ready.

How to Entertain Like a ProHow to Entertain Like a Pro

If this sounds like your typical dinner party I have a tip that will change the way people settle in at your next gathering: prepare three different appetizer boards for the three gathering spaces you have for guests. Those three gathering spaces can be your living room, the kitchen island, and an outside lounge area.

How to Entertain Like a Pro

The idea is to keep our guests interacting with potentially new groups of people at a dinner party, so having different appetizer boards in each room encourages people to change spaces due to the food offerings in another room. 

How to Entertain Like a Pro

First, you need to know the proper applications for setting up a cheese board (which you can find in this post here). Typically I set the largest meat and cheese plate in the den. I like this one to be overflowing with crowd favorites like a sharp white cheddar, manchego, olives, grapes, prosciutto, and plenty of TRISCUIT Cracked Pepper & Olive Oil Crackers to use as vehicles for their cheese.

How to Entertain Like a Pro How to Entertain Like a Pro

Next, I like to have the vegetable-forward appetizer outside (weather permitting). I’m currently on a jalapeno and cilantro hummus kick to serve as the coup de grace for a bed of sliced peppers, cucumbers, and Original TRISCUIT Crackers.

How to Entertain Like a Pro How to Entertain Like a Pro

Finally, I like to put the Aged and Funky meat and cheese plate near the kitchen. Since this is the heaviest of the appetizer boards, I want to make sure that it isn’t in a room that sees a lot of sit down traffic. Typically people come and go from the kitchen to grab another drink, so reaching for a quick smear of stilton with some honey on TRISCUIT Cracked Pepper & Olive Oil Crackers is a great way to reactivate your taste buds from the two flavor profiles from the other room.

How to Entertain Like a Pro

What I love about deploying this entertaining hack is that it gives everyone a silent opportunity to step away from a conversation for a moment or to join a new one! Everyone wins in the multi-appetizer board application and the hosts get to enjoy a bit more of the excellent dinner they’ve prepped since the guests tend to fill up on Cheese and TRISCUIT Crackers early on.

How to Entertain Like a Pro

Ready to put together your own appetizer trays? Shop for my go-to TRISCUIT Crackers now!


Author: Cynthia

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