Hosting or attending a dinner party can be very exciting. It’s nice to get together with friends or family and enjoy an evening of good food and even better drinks. However, you have to make sure you’re not making any classic faux pas!
A faux pas is an act that can be embarrassing or tactless, usually making you feel a little bit awkward and casting a mood on the evening. Whether you’re a guest or host, there are some common faux pas you can’t afford to make at the next dinner party:
Arriving late or too early
Obviously, this is only relevant if you’ve been invited to a dinner party. It’s pretty poor form to show up late as your host may be running on a strict schedule to ensure everything is cooked at a specific time. So, not only do you prevent other guests from enjoying their food, but you make the host really stressed. It’s a bad look, so always be on time.
Similarly, turning up way too early can be just as bad. Well, it’s more awkward than rude as you have to stand around with the host while they prepare everything for all the other guests. Being five minutes early is fine, but if you’re there 30 minutes before the other guests arrive, you’ve made a bit of a blunder.
Not setting the table
As the host, it’s pretty embarrassing if you invite people over for a dinner party, but don’t set the table. It just looks really awful and you know all of your guests are wondering why on earth you haven’t put down any placemats, etc.
Realistically, it’s not hard to do at all. It’ll take like five minutes, and you can make your table look really pretty and appealing.
Giving people paper towels instead of napkins
While we’re talking about setting the table, there’s one element of this that can lead to a massive faux pas. If you give your guests some little paper towels instead of actual napkins…boy, you’ve made a mistake.
Paper towels just look so flimsy and awkward on a dinner table, it’s also a bit disrespectful to guests. Instead, everyone should have some quality napkins specifically for dinner parties. You can get some from brands like Richard Haworth that are really premium in how they look and feel. It can sound a bit silly, but giving guests a napkin instead of a little paper towel will make a huge difference and help you avoid a faux pas.
Not bringing a gift
Again, if you are a guest, you have to bring a gift to the dinner party. Hosts will never ask for gifts, but it’s kind of implied that something should be brought. It’s a way for guests to say thanks to the host for letting them into their home and cooking delicious food.
Don’t worry, you don’t need to go crazy here. Usually, a bottle of wine or some other foodie gift will be a good idea. The host might use your gift as part of the dinner party or they could save it for themselves. If you’re ever unsure whether a dinner party warrants a gift, think about this. Imagine you are the only one that shows up without one. How embarrassing would that be?
Telling inappropriate jokes
What is an inappropriate joke? In truth, it depends on the setting and the people involved. Here’s an example: you’re a vegan, sitting around the dinner table with friends, and you make a joke about vegans. There’s nothing inappropriate about this because you’re making fun of yourself and nobody else is really the butt of the joke.
However, what if you aren’t vegan, but tell the same joke with vegans in the room that you barely know? Suddenly, it’s awkward and inappropriate. You get some half smiles and pity laughs as people scratch their heads and try to find a way to move on from the situation. It’s all about reading the room and understanding what you can or can’t joke about. When you’re with close friends or family, pretty much anything goes. But, if you’re at a dinner party with work colleagues or your boss, you have to reel things in and avoid making any inappropriate jokes.
Faux pas won’t ruin your life, but they can be extremely embarrassing and cast a black mood on the evening. It’s really a good idea to avoid them at all costs. Hopefully, this post has shown you some of the common faux pas that you can now avoid!