Last week I had a great time on a blog trip visiting the ALDI headquarters in Illinois. The great team at ALDI put together a blogger-centric event that not only introduced us to ALDI’s culture and products, they also gave us crash courses in entertaining, food styling and photography.
Let me tell you, I can’t believe how much I learned in that time about all the topics, but I left excited about sharing some great entertaining and food styling tips with all of you!
Janice Stahl, a professional food stylist who has worked with countless brands and celebrities, was there to educate us on food styling and give us some fantastic entertaining tips that will last well beyond the holiday season. I feel incredibly lucky to have learned so much from her in such a short amount of time!
Here are the Top 5 Entertaining Tips I learned at ALDI:
1. Every great party has a theme. Don’t attach a lot of weight to the word theme. We just want an idea to tie everything at the party together. It even makes planning food, drinks and decor easier! Think colors, shapes or locations.
2. Skip the big centerpiece. Centerpieces are either expensive or they take a lot of time to create. Unfortunately, they usually block at least a few faces when they’re where they’re supposed to be. Inevitably, someone moves the centerpiece away from the table. Instead, do a small floral arrangement at every place setting or put small party favors in a shallow bowl in the center of the table.
3. Greet guests at the door with a signature drink. A small drink gives newcomers something to hold and sip while warming up to the party. Guests won’t have to awkwardly look for or wait for a beverage, and people won’t instinctively crowd around the bar.
4. Serve everything in white and/or clear serving dishes. White and clear serving dishes offer a clean look without detracting from the theme or the attractiveness of the dish.
5. Think “small bites” for food. Janice said that she believes “there is nothing you can’t skewer.” Skewered food makes it easy for guests to try a small portion, it’s a clean way to serve and it almost always looks great. Mini desserts are also the best way to get guests to have something sweet after a meal. Bite-sized foods don’t overwhelm guests and encourage them at least have a taste!
I love that these tips are simple and definitely achievable for anyone throwing a party.
A final key to throwing a great party is serving amazing food. ALDI has a ton of recipes on their website, including a section dedicated to holiday recipes! The food pictured above can be found on ALDI’s website, and I’ll be featuring some recipes in the next few weeks!
Disclosure: I was a guest of ALDI on this blogger trip to Aldi test kitchen for the #InTheAldiKitchen Event. I was not paid and all opinions are my own.
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