Holiday Real Talk: How to Host a Big Crowd in a Small Space

Okay, so we’re finally getting in the holiday spirit at Plaster & Disaster. If you missed it, be sure to check out the totally serious and beautiful autumn crafts that we shared on Monday.

If you’re like me, you approach hosting for the holidays dreaming of the beautiful tablescapes you’ll create, how you’ll amaze your guests with festive and glittering décor worthy of a spread in Martha Stewart Living.

But then reality sets in, and I’m sure I’m not the only one who typically realizes that I’ve signed myself up for some hosting duties that far exceed what my space can easily accommodate. It can be hard to execute an inspirational tablescape when you’re trying to squish twenty people around a kitchen table that normally seats four (if you’re lucky enough to have a kitchen table!).

Sam and I have been hosting our families for Thanksgiving since the first year we lived together back in 2009, and each year we end up with a larger crowd than we were expecting. We’ve hosted 15-person sit-down meals in our one-bedroom apartment, and having a house hasn’t totally solved the hosting challenge since we still don’t actually have a dining room. But the holiday season is about spending time with those we love, so we would never want to limit our guest list to what is easy or what will allow us to create a pin-worthy table setting (even though I may have been pretty tempted sometimes).

As we gear up for another year (current headcount: 17), I thought I’d share a few things we’ve learned over the years about how to handle a lot of people in a little space, while keeping things at least a little bit stylish. Sorry in advance for the poor quality photos, all of these were taken before The Blog and thus I just didn’t realize I needed to be capturing magazine-worthy photos of every moment and food spread.

Consider eschewing the traditional sit-down meal

It’s fun to get everyone around a table together, but sometimes it just isn’t feasible. We often like to serve dinner when we have friends over for our annual holiday party, but we just don’t have the space to make it a sit-down dinner. Maybe it’s because we’re heathens who eat dinner at our coffee table most of the time anyway, but eating in the living room seems totally reasonable.

To make this work, we prepare food that can easily be eaten by guests whether they’re standing, sitting, or maybe even playing Bite the Bag (the game with the biggest differential between how dumb it sounds and how amazing it is). Some of our favorites are chili and pasta dishes that can easily be eaten in a bowl, and things like tacos where we set up a buffet and people have fun assembling them. We also did pancakes for my birthday one year, and it was amazing. Sure it might not feel as sophisticated as TV makes dinner parties out to be, but with good friends and good food, what more could you really want?

Don’t be afraid to get creative with furniture

Despite what I’ve said above, we’ve always prioritized a sit-down meal for Thanksgiving, even when it means going to somewhat ridiculous lengths. That’s partially because we claimed the holiday very early on in our relationship and wanted to entice our families (including all four sets of divorced and remarried parents, siblings, and friends who are like family) to make a new tradition with us. We felt like having a sit-down meal was part of proving that we were adults and this was a real Thanksgiving.

But that has definitely required getting creative. In our apartment, we would always move Sam’s desk and then set up a long series of tables that stretched from the study into the living room.

Here we are one year, with three tables (of varying heights) set end-to-end to accommodate fifteen of us.

And in the meantime, we hid all the extras behind closed doors in our bedroom:

For our first Thanksgiving in our house last year, we moved the two couches out of our sunroom and set up a long table that we normally have in our basement laundry room (which is actually two tables with a single really long piece of wood stretching across both). We put two folding tables out as well, and then used a combination of chairs and benches for seating (including two benches from our outdoor patio and a cedar chest from our living room). We put the extra couches in the living room temporarily to provide extra seating during the pre- and post-meal socializing.

Sure it’s more work, but for those few days a year when we want to have a dedicated dining room it totally makes sense to use the space we have – and it makes way more sense than keeping it a dining room year-round, when we’d only use it occasionally (because, as mentioned already, we’re heathens who eat at our — amazing incredible beautiful — coffee table).

Ask for help!

Guests might be used to bringing side dishes and libations, but there’s no reason you can’t ask for a different kind of help. We’ve we consistently had family members bring folding tables and chairs with them so that we could seat everyone – it doesn’t make sense to own these ourselves for just one day a year, and our parents are more than happy to help. Of course you have to think about who is driving versus who might need to pack lighter on a plane, but chances are there are a few people who can help out if you’re just willing to ask.

Focus your décor on something other than the tablescape

Let’s face it, when you’re pushing multiple tables together and seating people in folding chairs, you’re just not going to have a glamorous and perfect tablescape. But that doesn’t mean you can’t get creative with holiday décor. My tradition has been to display a menu in a new way each year – here are some past variations:

I’ve also done some variations on placecards:

To be honest, I really haven’t planned much for this Thanksgiving yet…and it’s only a week away! But I’m sure I’ll figure it out — it may not end up being the most pinterest-worthy event that takes place next week, but I’ll be too busy enjoying the time with my hilarious, generous, and easy-to-please family and friends (including Brad and Naomi, of course!).

(Sharing at Tip Me Tuesday, Totally Terrific Tuesday, Create Link Inspire, and Two Uses Tuesday)