Pros and Cons of Hosting a Dinner

Dinner is a great way to catch up with friends and family. You may find yourself (like me) hosting a Thanksgiving or a meal with an old acquaintance. Over the past few years, I have hosted time and time again. From these experiences, I compile my list of pros and cons.

Pros of Hosting a Dinner

1. Hosting provides a great way to catch up. I love being able to catch up over dinner. Dinner can help prevent awkward silence and provide a source of topics. 
2. It is an excuse to clean your house.  Hosting helps me set aside more time for tidying up. 
3. No need to travel. As Dorothy said, "There's no place like home. " I couldn't agree more. I love being in a familiar atmosphere. 
4. You get to choose the details. My husband is gluten intolerant which can make dinner parties outside our house stressful. I hate to feel that people have to change the menu. This situation is prevented by me going ahead and hosting the dinner. 
5. It can be fun to plan. Do you like cooking? Do you like planning big events? Then hosting a dinner is right up your alley.
6. You will get most of the leftovers. It is true you might send food away. However, you will find that a host gets left with a lot more. I love leftovers! This means I don't have to worry about making food for a few days!
7. It is a great way to get to know people on a different level. Do you want to get to know a member of your church congregation better? Have them over for dinner! Do you want to get to know a coworker better? Have them over for dinner! Do you want to get to know your friend's cute roommate better? Have the whole apartment over for dinner! 

Cons of Hosting a Dinner

1. It can be expensive. Not only are you feeding more people, but you want to make the evening special. This means the meals may be more extravagant than you would typically prepare. 
2. There is a lot of preparation. Do you know what ingredients you need? Do you know what time you need to start preparing the food? When was the last time you cleaned the bathroom?
3. It can be overwhelming. Luckily, you choose how much you place on your shoulders. Once  I made a Thanksgiving dinner for some foreign students. To say it was overwhelming is an understatement!
4. Your guests may not like the food. I like when people enjoy the food. It is a real bummer when you can tell that they don't. 
5. Your guests may have allergies . Allergies may make the dinner feel like hiking Mount Everest. 
6. You can lack the space. How big is your house? Is it big enough to accommodate all of your guests? Our kitchen is tiny, which makes hosting hard. 
7. You get the cleanup. After the guests are gone, there is still so much to do. Your newly clean house will be dirty again. 

"Our goal is to help the world make decisions with a list of Pros and Cons. We invite all to add to our lists to help others make the most educated decision possible. We are all in this world together to help each other and learn from what others have learned from their lives journey."                          - Pros and Cons Team
                                             Written by: Kristen