Entertaining with your whole home

In preparation for your soiree you’ve spent the day mowing the lawn, dusting cobwebs off patio furniture and stringing fairy lights around the garden. The next thing you know, everyone’s arrived and they’re all crowded into your kitchen having a great time of it.

The worst part is there’s guacamole ingredients, food-covered utensils and champagne corks strewn across your benchtops and not one guest has noticed how you’ve intricately synced the fairy lights to flash in time with the beat of the music.

There’s no doubt about it – ‘party clumping’ is an annoying first-world problem. So why does it occur? And how can you stop it?

Spread out your sources of food and drinks

It is a universally acknowledged truth, that people who turn up to your party will want to be nearest to the primary source of beverages. Like ants to your cheese and charcuterie picnic board, guests will inevitably congregate in the laundry or bathroom if you stock the sink or bath with drink. So, don’t do it.

Here are some alternative beverage storage ideas scaled to different budgets:

1. Hire a catering company with waiters who can serve drinks to your guests just as you wish.
2. Visit your local antique store and buy half-a-dozen rustic old metal laundry tubs for $150 each. If that sounds too hard and expensive, go to Officeworks and buy some large plastic storage containers for $10 each. Fill rustic tubs/plastic containers with ice and drinks and strategically place them where you want your guests to congregate.

The BBQ spectacular

There’s nothing like an extravagant display of outdoor molecular gastronomy to get guests away from the kitchen and into your preferred party zone. If you’re lucky enough to have a) a backyard or patio and b) a BBQ, there’s no better way to get everyone there than by showing off with a beer can chicken or even better – a turducken (the old chicken inside a duck, inside a turkey trick).

If you really want to go all out, add a few pellets of dry ice to the regular ice in your drink tubs. You’ll get that fabulous low-lying fog effect and kudos for making your backyard look cool. Everyone will abandon the kitchen to come and watch the mystical fog spilling out of your drink containers. Just don’t let kids go near it as dry ice can burn sensitive skin!

It’s all about the music

If you have a multi-room AV system, why not use the powers of technology and psychology to your advantage. While the wrong types of music will dampen the mood and send your guests in the opposite direction – think elevator music, sacred chanting, aggressive hip hop or gut-wrenching heavy metal – the right kind of music will help you make friends and influence people.

Think about your audience, would they be into a 90s flashback night? Perhaps the 70s or even the 50s would be a better fit. You can’t really go wrong with the classics, whichever era you go for. If you have a knowledgeable music crowd, look to recent music festival line-ups and create a playlist accordingly, or you could ask a muso friend for access to their iTunes for the night (highly recommended).

By playing music in different parts of the house, your guests will know they are welcome to meander and not feel like they are invading your privacy. The other major benefit of a multi-room AV system is that you can create party zones – from dancefloor to chill out areas.

You could also tackle the problem head on by enticing party guests out to the patio or into the garden with the promise of a brilliantly synched fairy-light display, accompanied by deck chairs or plump outdoor cushions for reclining.

So, to avert party-clumping bottlenecks try these three entertaining tactics: strategically allocate food and beverages throughout your home; trick up your BBQ skills and leave a lasting impression; use music and lighting displays to your advantage. And last but not least – relax, it is a party after all and your guests are there to see you!