{"id":2540,"date":"2023-05-18T19:59:23","date_gmt":"2023-05-18T23:59:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/parmaks.com\/Resources\/hacks-for-entertaining\/"},"modified":"2023-05-18T19:59:23","modified_gmt":"2023-05-18T23:59:23","slug":"hacks-for-entertaining","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/parmaks.com\/Resources\/hacks-for-entertaining\/","title":{"rendered":"Hacks for Entertaining"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <a href=\"https:\/\/hop.clickbank.net\/?affiliate=infohatch&amp;vendor=J1R2C\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-10614 aligncenter\" src=\"http:\/\/parmaks.com\/Resources\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/profit-gen400px.png\" alt=\"Profit Gen\" width=\"400\" height=\"217\" srcset=\"https:\/\/parmaks.com\/Resources\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/profit-gen400px.png 400w, https:\/\/parmaks.com\/Resources\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/profit-gen400px-300x163.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-post\" data-elementor-id=\"135465\" class=\"elementor elementor-135465\">\n<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-ee38de8 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"ee38de8\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-3c64416\" data-id=\"3c64416\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-409f6ea elementor-drop-cap-yes elementor-drop-cap-view-default elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"409f6ea\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-settings=\"{&quot;drop_cap&quot;:&quot;yes&quot;}\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n<p>In episode 430 of the <a href=\"\/podcasts\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><em>Happier with Gretchen Rubin <\/em><\/a>podcast, we discuss our favorite hacks for entertaining.<\/p>\n<p>Why does this issue matter for happiness?<\/p>\n<p>As I explore more deeply in my book <a href=\"\/books\/the-happiness-project\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><em>The Happiness Project<\/em><\/a>, ancient philosophers and modern scientists agree that<strong> a key\u2014perhaps <em>the <\/em>key\u2014to happiness is strong relationships<\/strong>. We need strong, intimate bonds; we need to feel like we belong; we need to be able to confide; we need to be able to get and give support.<\/p>\n<p>One of the quickest ways to deepen and strengthen relationships is to invite people into our homes. But that can require a lot of time, energy, and money!<\/p>\n<p>These hacks are meant to make entertaining easier and more fun.<\/p>\n<p><strong>From our mother, who is great at entertaining:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Use place cards, and, if you&#8217;re feeling ambitious, menu cards.<\/li>\n<li>Seat people on the ends of rectangular tables, to make conversation easier.<\/li>\n<li>If you can afford to, hire someone\u2014such as your children\u2014to help with serving and clean-up.<\/li>\n<li>Make your own printed invitations.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong><br \/>From Elizabeth: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Have a theme.<\/li>\n<li>Set your event after dinner,\u00a0 so you provide dessert or snacks and drinks.<\/li>\n<li>Brunch is easier than dinner.<\/li>\n<li>Set up a recurring event like a book club or lunch club.<\/li>\n<li>Entertain at the last minute.<\/li>\n<li>Have a party favor.<\/li>\n<li>Co-host with someone else.<\/li>\n<li>Have a planned activity, such as mahjong, a taste party (I describe a taste party in my book<a href=\"\/books\/life-in-five-senses\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><em> Life in Five Senses<\/em><\/a>), a board game, or a podcast club<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong><br \/>From Gretchen:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>My mantra: &#8220;It\u2019s always the right number of attendees at a book club.&#8221;<\/li>\n<li>Look for an opportunity to celebrate\u2014anniversary of a book group, holidays, etc.<\/li>\n<li>Need wedding readings? <a href=\"\/resource\/wedding-readings\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Click here<\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h4><strong><br \/>Hacks from listeners<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p><strong>Get help:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>As discussed in <a href=\"\/podcast\/393-celebrate-labor-day-with-happierlaborday-an-easy-hack-to-delegate-tasks-and-are-you-drifting\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">episode 393<\/a>, First Lady Jill Biden suggests putting up sticky notes with suggested tasks. People can choose their own task, take the note, and you can see what remains to be done.<\/li>\n<li>Ask for help!<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong><br \/>Be prepared:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Make a checklist for shopping and prep.<\/li>\n<li>Stock up ahead of time.<\/li>\n<li>Create index cards for each holiday with a menu and shopping list.<\/li>\n<li>Toss dirty dishes in a laundry basket and hide them in the bathtub before guests arrive.<\/li>\n<li>Keep your house \u201ccompany ready\u201d (with a baseline of cleanliness and some snacks and drinks on hand) so that it\u2019s easy to invite friends over. (Need inspiration for clearing clutter? Check out <a href=\"\/books\/outer-order-inner-calm\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><em>Outer Order, Inner Calm<\/em><\/a>.)<\/li>\n<li>For kids\u2019 birthday parties, the night before, pre-scoop ice cream into cupcake liners and put them in the freezer on a baking sheet.<\/li>\n<li>Have a birthday box containing everything you need for a birthday party in one place: balloons, a reusable happy birthday sign, birthday candles, photo props, streamers etc.\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>Run the dishwasher and empty it before guests arrive so you have somewhere to put dirty dishes as the night goes on.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong><br \/>Lower the bar:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Embrace limitations, such as the number of people who will fit on your porch.<\/li>\n<li>Host a themed potluck.<\/li>\n<li>Invite another family over for take-out. Only one rule: you&#8217;re not allowed to clean up!<\/li>\n<li>Host an open-house cocktail party from 4-6 pm.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong><br \/>Make it easier:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Choose a &#8220;signature&#8221; event to host a few times a year. You develop a system, and guests look forward to it.<\/li>\n<li>Nothing beats instant brownie mix: It&#8217;s easy to customize with different ice cream flavors or mix-ins.<\/li>\n<li>Try the Aussie way of entertaining: Bring your own meat and drinks.<\/li>\n<li>Ask each guest to bring a side dish, drink, or dessert so you only have to make the main dish.<\/li>\n<li>Serve tacos\u2014they work for meat lovers, vegans, gluten free, dairy and nut allergies, and picky kids.<\/li>\n<li>In his book <em><a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/457IT4Z\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Your Invisible Network<\/a><\/em>, Michael Melcher talks about being a &#8220;Secret Agent at a Party.&#8221; Make it your mission to make the party go better.<\/li>\n<li>Give yourself the job of Party Photographer.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>What other hacks do you use to make entertaining easier or more fun? Entertaining should be&#8230;entertaining!<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section><\/div>\n<p>The post <a rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/gretchenrubin.com\/articles\/hacks-for-entertaining\/\">Hacks for Entertaining<\/a> appeared first on <a rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/gretchenrubin.com\">Gretchen Rubin<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/hop.clickbank.net\/?affiliate=infohatch&amp;vendor=J1R2C\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-10614 aligncenter\" src=\"http:\/\/parmaks.com\/Resources\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/profit-gen400px.png\" alt=\"Profit Gen\" width=\"400\" height=\"217\" srcset=\"https:\/\/parmaks.com\/Resources\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/profit-gen400px.png 400w, https:\/\/parmaks.com\/Resources\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/profit-gen400px-300x163.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/><\/a><br \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In episode 430 of the Happier with Gretchen Rubin podcast, we discuss our favorite hacks for entertaining. Why does this issue matter for happiness? As [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2541,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2540","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-habits"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/parmaks.com\/Resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2540","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/parmaks.com\/Resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/parmaks.com\/Resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/parmaks.com\/Resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/parmaks.com\/Resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2540"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/parmaks.com\/Resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2540\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/parmaks.com\/Resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2541"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/parmaks.com\/Resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2540"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/parmaks.com\/Resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2540"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/parmaks.com\/Resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2540"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}