I'm giving you the scoop on everything involved in January's dinner party, A Retrospective Dinner Party to Look Forward, including juicy details about the theme, invitations, planning and prep, menu items, party favors, and more. Read on, my friend.
If you've been following me on Instagram, you know that one of my 2026 intentions is to host more dinner parties. Not the kind that pop up last minute. We have plenty of those happen nearly every week in this house. I'm craving intentional, purposeful, and well thought-out ones. I want to create an environment where everyone feels connected to one another and a bit pampered. I want people to feel special.
Well, I made it happen. The first dinner party of the year kicked off last week, and it was lovely. I've given you all of the details below in the event you want to host your own. You could literally copy and paste if you wanted to -- or at least have a good starting off point. Sometimes the hardest part is just getting started.
I hope this will post will encourage you to invite loved ones over more often. After all, the world needs more connection. More love. More care for one another. I can think of no better time than now.
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Here's to more dinner parties in 2026!
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THE DINNER PARTY THEME & Vibe
The title of this month's dinner party was A Retrospective Dinner Party to Look Forward. I wanted it to be about stepping into the new year -- but not maybe your traditional way of talking about resolutions, commitments or intentions. This party was all about putting yourself back in the shoes of your 10 year old self to see what wisdom could be extracted. I framed the evening around three questions that also corresponded to the evening's courses:
- Looking back at your 10 year old self, what did you value most back then? (past)
- What part of your 10 year old self is still present? (present)
- What part of your 10 year old self do you want to hold on to or let go of moving forward? (future)
To RSVP, everyone sent me a picture of their 10 year old self. I printed off everyone's pictures at CVS and put them in gold glittery picture frames I got at Dollar General so they were literally facing their cute 10 year old self at dinner.
As a result of the theme, the vibe I was going for was comforting, nostalgic, and reflective. Everything flowed from there.
consider your audience
This dinner party wouldn't work for all of my friend groups. I strongly suggest you consider your audience for whatever theme you're planning.
This group needed to be willing to get real. Not all of my friends want to do that (and that's okay). This group of women are instructional coaches and leaders -- naturally very curious, willing to explore, and to get a bit deeper than your average dinner party.
THE invitation
I used a video invitation thanks to Canva -- which somehow elevates the feel of the whole event to me. Sending an invitation automatically makes the dinner feel more like an event that's intimate and special. Think back to receiving a paper birthday party invite. Those envelopes were basically made of gold as a child, right?
Don't forget to ask people about food allergies, aversions, or other dietary restrictions. I write this down in my Google spreadsheet dinner planner to finalize the menu.
The Table
The table had a black, white and gold theme. I kept our dining room table exposed, putting just a black and white plaid runner down the middle. I have gold place mats I used to set the table with white napkins. I dimmed the lights in the dining area to sit largely by the light of votives.
I picked up some baby's breath the night before at the grocery store, and put the baby's breath in un-matching vases I had laying around. The glittery gold frames went above the place setting so everyone could know where to sit and could look at their cute 10 year old selves for the moments of reflection during each course.
The January Dinner Party Menu
The evening's menu was designed to be comforting and homey to match the theme. I also needed to make the foods in advance because this dinner party fell on a Friday night. Friday dinner parties are my favorite because they make the weekend feel longer but they're also a bear to put together. I had to be organized and on top of everything throughout the week.
I created a menu card (also in Canva) so people knew exactly what to expect from the evening in terms of food. I like menu cards when you're doing plated courses because you can pace yourself. For me, this includes peeping the dessert selection first...clearly.
The menus came out beautifully -- with a black background that makes the menu look elegant and festive for the New Year. I printed the menus double-sided on white card stock. On the back was a picture of each guest to go with my theme dipping into the past, present, and future.
- Starter - We started with butternut squash soup that's so silky, luxurious, and flavorful, you'd have no idea this has no cream in it. The potato gives it so much richness. The soup has a bit of a kick to it thanks to cayenne and a generous portion of yellow curry. The soup is so easy to make -- perfect for a Friday dinner party.
- I made it on Wednesday night, then poured it into a huge pot to heat up about an hour before guests arrived.
- I served it with pepitas, watercress, and a touch of maple cream. To make the maple cream, put ¼ cup of heavy cream in a food-safe squirt bottle, add a splash of maple syrup, and then shake vigorously (with the cap on, of course!) until a cream forms. It was a beautiful garnish for the already-pretty orange colored soup.
- Main Course - For the main course, we started with a caesar salad with homemade Caesar dressing, baked rigatoni, and crunchy Italian bread John picked up for me on the way home. This is comfort food at its finest.
- I made the dressing the night before along with the baked rigatoni.
- The baked rigatoni only needed to be baked. Baking took a solid hour because it was so cold. It could have honestly been in the oven for 90 minutes.
- I took the Caesar dressing out of the fridge an hour before I wanted to eat the salads.
- Dessert - This may have been the most popular thing on the menu, and how could it not be? You can't complete with a warm, ooey gooey chocolate chip skillet cookie. I scooped it right a large serving spoon right out of the oven, making it ooey gooey and delicious. Then topped with a generous scoop of vanilla ice cream.
All the plates were cleaned up -- which is always a sign of a delicious dinner had by all.
TIMING THE DINNER PARTY JUST RIGHT
Timing is not my strong suit. I'm more of a "wing it" kind-of-girl, which is not the best approach to dinner parties. Trust me though: You. Must. Figure. Out. Timing. You feel so much more prepared and calm throughout the evening. I'm never going back again.
I kept track of the timing as well as other planning a preparation on a Google spreadsheet. It helped me keep track of my tasks leading up to the dinner, keep my menu straight, list groceries I needed to buy, allergies or my guests, and an itinerary for the day of the big party.
The Favors
Every good party growing up had a party favor. Whether it was a goodie bag or not, it felt good to walk away with something, didn't it? I like to find something that's the adult equivalent of the goodie bag you had as a child, and I always try to find something that people will actually use.
I'm always searching for dinner party favors everywhere I go -- Target, At Home, or Williams Sonoma and Crate & Barrel clearance section after major holidays, are a few of my favorites.
Adult Favors that don't suck
I have a few rules when finding favors. They must...
- not be something you'd typically buy yourself on the regular
- relate to the evening's theme
- not expensive (hello, public education system employee!)
- be something people will actually use.
The favors for January's dinner party were these journals I found at At Home. They have this beautiful soft, texturized binding. I wrote a quick note on a post-it note inside each one, then wrapped the journals with a glittery gold and white bow.
OVERALL EXPERIENCE
This was such a fun night. An amazing group of women came together to laugh about the blunders of being 10, along with the joy and the longing of that age. Then there was a lot of heavy stuff that surfaced, including a brave battle with breast cancer, loss of relationships, and the weight of parenthood.
There's so much connection in being vulnerable, and so much healing in community. How humbing it is to look back and see how we've evolved and grown over the past few decades!
Great Dinner Party Food
Here are some of my favorite recipes that would be perfect for another dinner party!
desserts for a dinner party
I have so many delicious desserts on the site. Don't be afraid to sift through them all to find something that strikes your fancy!
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