Host the Dinner Party!

Five Fine Things From My Recent Dinner Party

Jul 06, 2026

This week I hosted a Tuesday night dinner party with a group of friends: 4 couples, plus us, for a total of ten people. The group were all friends of ours with kids at the exact ages and I was excited to introduce most of them for the first time. I really love combining my friend groups and getting to be the one who introduces people I love.

I sent out a group text to all the wives and was happy everyone was able to make one of my suggested dates work, especially considering summer travel schedules, and all the other things like work and babysitters. It was actually really nice to do on a weekday, where I find it’s easier for most of my friends to find childcare, and people are much less likely to be traveling.

The best thing I did for this dinner was hire a chef to handle cooking, and the even better thing I did was choose my brother as that chef! I knew ten people on a weeknight would be hard to execute and I wanted to just enjoy and get to catch up with everyone. My brother, Myles Snider, who writes Myles Cooks, is a chef who’s worked in restaurants and private events. He just recently moved onto our street (!!! a life upgrade I’m so excited and thankful for), and he was up for it! You could of course do a similar style dinner by cooking on your own and still really enjoy the night.

Here are Five Fine Things worth noting that made it a perfect night:

Setting the Table:
I was so excited that my main task for the night was setting a beautiful dinner table! When I’m cooking, the food is my main focus and the table is a second thought, but for this I got to focus just on the table and the vibe, and I loved doing it! For the table I got this folding table online, and it’s such a great thing to have around. It folds up to easily store anywhere and can seat 10 people, which no other table we have can. Then I got these deep red stools from Muji which stack up so easily, so are also great to just have around, and honestly they perfectly comfortable for grown adults and men to sit on for the whole duration of dinner. These portable lights (on sale!) are amazing for outdoor dinner because you charge them and then they’re cordless and you can bring them anywhere. They have three brightness settings that you can adjust for ambiance. We’ve had these for years and they’ve served us so well! For the table cloth, I layered this extra large one, which is nice because it’s so big that it fully covers the legs of the table, with this floral tablecloth that Rich gifted me recently from PORTA which is also where my plates and serving dishes are from. I love the glasses I used, which were half our basic ones we use daily and half these fun ones from Zara Home that are no longer available. But, as you know, I love Zara Home and have so many great finds from there! I love these yellow glasses, these striped ones, and these blue rim tumblers they have currently. With Zara Home, if you like it, buy it, because they sell out quick and change inventory often. Also, a reminder to me and you to get more than a set of six on anything I’m buying for tablewear - both for larger groups, and also because things do break and then I find myself with random mismatched numbers. So long as I like the pieces, I don’t mind them mismatching! For instance, I got these rainbow color steak knives in Portugal years ago, and even though I didn’t have enough for everyone, I liked putting them out! For apps, I always have a roll of these disposable cloth bar napkins on hand!
Cooking and a Theme:
As mentioned above, I hired my brother Myles Snider to cook the dinner. I told him he could make anything he wanted and knew he would execute! He decided on a “Spanish Style” dinner, inspired by Rich asking him to make these reverse seared ribeye steaks he cooked for us last year. Myles made all his sauces (aioli, romesco, whipped feta) the Sunday before, because he too was working on Tuesday. The night before, he salted the steaks, roasted the beets, and did some mise en place prep. Then, the day of, he did the potatoes, made the salad, and seared the steaks. For the apps and dessert, it was really just assembly, which is nice if you’re entertaining and it was done just before guests arrived and after we cleared dinner plates!
Menus:
You can see the full menu of what we got to eat here and admire my Canva skills too! The morning of, I thought it would be nice to make a menu. I designed them on Canva, but you can also look through a large library they have of menu templates if you are not as design-savvy. I just emailed the PDF to the local UPS store near me and cut them there when I picked up! I think people really like seeing a menu because it gets them excited for the dinner ahead and gives them a vibe for the night and the meal. I also think people do appreciate being told where to sit so I did double duty and used the menus as place cards. I love the task of getting to choose who sits where and thinking about the dynamics and personalities. I sat Rich and myself at the heads of the table to play hosts and then overlapped the couples next to each other in a way I thought they would most enjoy.
Guests and Intention:
Anytime I host I am guilty of overthinking the dynamics. If we’re having new friends over and then Rich suggests adding in someone already close to us, I will often resist thinking it’s not the right fit. That said, I have gotten better, and I do believe that a generous and laid back host is the key to entertaining any group together. But, I do still like picking a group to host for dinner that has some connection and then playing matchmaker throughout the night, helping people get to know each other. For this dinner I invited all couples who live in Brooklyn and have a 2 year old Richie’s age, since that was my main connection to most of these friends. I also think having some intention for the night - be it the theme of the food or the reason you’re all together is nice as host and guest. I chimed my glass for a quick toast before we ate just to say thank you to all of our friends for making the time to come over, comment on how cool it is that out kids brought us together, and say how much I love introducing the friends I love to each other.
Dressed to Host:
I hate to be overdressed. I’d rather be the most casual person in the room than the most done up. When I’m hosting, I tend to lean even more casual. I think it’s a weird dynamic in my head of wanting to make other people feel at ease. That said, it’s fun to wear something cute and it’s really nice to be comfortable when you’re home because, different from a restaurant, you’re probably doing a mix of sitting in a dinging chair, lounging on a couch, serving, cleaning, etc. I have a few go-to rules when hosting: Never wear a heel (a kitten heel could be an exception) and wear shoes that you can easily remove: its ideal if I can be barefoot at some point and even in the winter its nice to have shoes that side off if you end up on the couch later or want to run upstairs. Go casual: I like something that is simple and easy to move in. I don’t want my guests to feel they’re ever underdressed. Wear your great jewelry: If I am wearing something really fun when entertaining, it’s likely jewelry, rather than a bold sleeve or a unique pant or top since those tend to be annoying to host in. Jewelry on the other hand is my favorite way to casually dress up a simple jeans and t-shirt outfit or add interest to an otherwise simple look. For this dinner, I wore a red sandal, the silk Natalie Martin dress I’ve worn tons in the past few months, and a bold vintage shell necklace.