Attending Party/Gatherings 101

We held a few gatherings at our place this December and to a certain extent, it was crazy. Crazily preparing food and cleaning up the house. And to make matter worse, it was also the month where we change maid twice. So I had to do most of the cooking plus supervision.

Not so much about preparing for parties/gatherings since Martha Stewart is the expert in this area. What I want to share is some things to take note if you are the invited guest.

1. Never arrive early before the stated time of the gathering. In fact, according to a David Tutera Party Planner show, its quite rude to arrive early (as well as being late).

You see, we can't reject you when you've arrived at our doorstep. So we invite you in. You enter the host's house to meet an unprepared and embarrassed host, table's not set, kids are not bathed, drinks not prepared etc. And while the hosts are scrambling to get everything ready, you are left alone staring into the TV because none of us can entertain you at the moment. It becomes awkward for all of us.

2. If its a potluck gathering, please check with the host on the headcount. You want to bring something enough for everybody but NOT excessive. Key word here, excessive. Like its a gathering of 10 people, please don't bring something for 20 people.

Christmas is a time of giving and meeting. But let's not make it into a time of throwing. If you bring too much food (especially too much of ONE kind of food), there're bound to be leftovers. And very likely, you are not going to 'tabao' back. So it stays put in the hosts house. Your over-estimation becomes the host's responsibility to store and finish up the food for you over the next few days.

According to Espirito Santo Gourmet & Butchery, estimate about 200g of meat per person if you're bringing some roasted meat dishes.

3. Don't duplicate the same items for potluck. Check with the host and everybody in the emailing list on what items each guest is bringing. If emails aren't used, you can always call the host to check. The host should have the responsibility to check who's bring what.

So never assume. Because the last thing we want is three trays of fried beehoon and no other varieties. This is not a fried beehoon tasting competition, so let's make this gathering an amicable one by not having to compare taste and styles of the beehoon.

4. Never be overly late. Of course, we talk about arriving before the stated time, we must also talk about arriving late. Punctuality is something the society values. So it'll be nice if we can arrive on time. However, given the unpredictable traffic conditions in S'pore, lateness is something we can and have been tolerating.

However, there is a limit. Arriving more than 1hr later than the stated time can be quite disturbing. Especially if it is a sit down dinner and everybody is waiting for your arrival. Because we would be seen as rude if we were to start the dinner without you. And so we wait.... till the food becomes cold and the sauce turns gluey.

5. RSVP please. And also provide the headcount of people you are bringing so the host can prepare enough food for everybody. Its like those typical Chinese wedding dinner where we'll RSVP to the wedding couple on how many of us are attending the dinner so they can allocate seats for us. Likewise, if the host is cooking/catering, I need the headcount to do my food estimation. It's not nice if I under cater and it becomes a wastage if I over cater.

So much for these... I hope I am not being naggy.

And if you are thinking if all these did happen to me. Nope, not entirely. And I'm glad I had some really nice guests.

Merry Christmas to All!