I thought I had written alot about entertaining in a small space. Turns out it was one post 5 years ago! Whoops! I feel like this should have been talked about more here and I apologize. We entertain quite a bit and we’ve done it in 600 square feet with 2 kids and now we do it often in 900 square feet. It is truly much easier in our bigger space but more important than space is the fact that our kids are now 10 and 7 and don’t require constant supervision.
I still think we have found some systems/habits that are helpful in a variety of small spaces. Living in Vancouver most friend’s we go to are also navigating small spaces so these ideas have worked across multiple spaces.
Extra Seating
In most small dining rooms I’m often suggesting just having the minimum of seats around it on a daily basis. If there are only 4 of you normally at the table and you only entertain once a month, can you pull those seats from another area of the home? Benches can be really handy in these scenarios as lots of kids can fit on a bench and often an extra adult than you would think (get cozy!). We are often pulling a side table that doubles as a stool from our living room or a stool from the kids room to add to our table to accommodate 6-8. Our table can’t really seat 8, but we sure try. Trevor or I always take the least comfortable seats (like the tippy stool or hanging off the end of the over-filled bench) so our guests are forced to sit comfortably. Could you have a a stacking stool or two in your living room or bedroom for guests? Or potentially some folding chairs (Post about folding chairs here) tucked away in a closet (ours are beside in the washing machine in the bathroom).
Our ottoman and bench in the living room is extra seating and the bean bag chairs downstairs sometimes get brought upstairs for extra seats. I often sit on the floor so friends have a comfy seat (sometimes I think about getting cute floor cushions (but where would I keep them!?).
Feed the Kids First
This has been working for our gang for a while, especially with larger gatherings. Whenever the food is ready we round up the kids and feed them quickly in a flurry of requests for water, more salt please!, straw please, ketchup please!! Then once they’ve finished we clear the table and reset it for the adults. The adults can have a more leisurely dinner and the now-full kids can run away to play more.
