Notes On Creativity - Own It

Last night my friends Crispin and Brian decided to host a dinner party for a group of us. You may remember Crispin from his cheese discovery that I wrote about almost five years ago. He and I have been friends for a while now and his husband Brian has also become a close friend of mine.

I have to hand it to both Crispin and Brian, every time they host a party they own it. What does that mean?  From start to finish every detail is taken care of.  You never walk into their house and experience the two of them darting from room to room still preparing appetizers, cleaning the house or making the meal.  They are prepared, and with gin and tonics or a glass of champagne in hand they greet you at the door, take your coat and hand you a drink.  Both are masters in the art of entertaining and they play off of one another very well.  While Crispin prepares plates for dinner, Brian is entertaining guests and serving appetizers.  Its as if there is a maestro in the room silently directing their every move.

I have learned so much from the two of them, not only about entertaining, but also about the importance of long lasting friendships and how that can be celebrated by gathering around a table and toasting past, present and future memories.

So next time you host an event take a lesson from my two very good friends -- Own It.

Comments

[JPDub]

Execeptional advice taken from a very fortunate experience. I've been to numerous parties where the hosts were in the midst of pulling together the loose ends while guests were trying to get into the groove. The nervous energy emanating from the hosts almost always trickles down, which is the last impact a good host would want to have on his or her guests. All in all, thanks for this simple, yet all-to-often forgotten reminder. If you're going to do it, do it right.