"I am a single man who inherited, from my parents and grandparents, both a love of entertaining and also a great deal of the trappings needed china, crystal, linen, silver that other relatives didn't want. I have everything from fish knives and bouillon cups to strawberry forks and salt spoons. I don't use them all often, but I enjoy it when I do, and my friends seem to, as well."
"Much of my entertaining is less formal: backyard cookouts and such, with all comers welcome. But two or three times a year, I break out the table finery and have a more formal dinner with several courses and a carefully set table. My dining room limits the number invited to eight or, though a bit tight, 10. So I choose guests who I think will enjoy the nostalgia, and most do."
A host inherited extensive formal tableware and enjoys hosting occasional multi-course, seated dinners limited to eight to ten guests. Some invitees fail to respond to invitations or reminders yet arrive unannounced, creating logistical problems with place cards, mismatched settings, squeezed seating, and potentially insufficient individually portioned dishes. Appropriate immediate responses include expressing surprise and making reasonable, obvious accommodations while reshuffling seating and settings. Persistent failure to RSVP can justify rescinding access to formal service or privileges for future events. Hosts should not abandon formal dinners entirely because of occasional unannounced guests.
Read at www.mercurynews.com
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