We hosted our own pre-dance dinner for my high school son and his friends. Here are my reflections on the evening.
As any practical author does, I write from my own experience. With that in mind, my blog and articles posts in September about hosting a pre-Homecoming Dance dinner party for your teen became a reality in our home this weekend.
My son hosted 6 couples for a relaxed dinner prior to the dance. We made it special by using theme decorations (in line with the high school's theme), offering a photo op location, and serving pre-plated dinners for the teens.
The dinner went off as planned -- I timed it so there was 30 minutes of arriving, flowers, photos and appetizers (of which the teens ate none, although some parents did!). The teens arrived at the table that already had iced & watered glasses, and were served pre-plated salads immediately. Once those plates were cleared, the main meal was served (waiters passed the serving dishes). We served a roasted pork, baby vegetables, boiled new pototoes, autumn apple salad and bread. The kids enjoyed the meal, and seconds of all items were offered after about 15 minutes.
The only minor glitch was in my estimation of the teens' departure. I assumed that they would leave for the dance at least by the published time (7:30 pm in our case). However, they all wanted to arrive fashionably late, so we had about 15 minutes of "dead time" following the meal. The kids enjoyed sitting and talking at the dinner table, but from a service point of view, there should have been candies or tea cookies offered at this point. (we had scheduled a dessert bar after the dance, so I had not planned to offer dessert immediately following the meal).
My next blog will cover the post-dance dessert bar -- which was another type of party onto itself!
