Don’t let the recession curb your dinner party plans. If you’re like us - overburdened with a heavy workload and family obligations - parties serve as a vital lifeline that creates meaningful connections between you and your social circle. A dinner party is one of the oldest party forms that exists in society. But long gone are the days of a conventional dinner party, with everyone seated formally around the dining room table. Thanks to tons of new party ideas, it’s easy to throw a chic and glamorous dinner party for friends. Use the following dinner party ideas to kick-start your dinner party planning.

Get Organized – Before throwing a dinner party, plan it well in advance so that the people attending can enjoy it to the fullest. Start your dinner party planning by asking yourself a few basic questions that will help you get organized, such as:

What is the purpose of the party?

Who is it for?

What month are you throwing the party in? (This will help you select a theme)

What will be the theme of the party?

What to serve in the party?

After finding specific answers to these sets of questions, go forward to the next set of party ideas.

Find a party theme – themed parties have long replaced conventional parties. In order to find a suitable theme, you have to know the type of people that will attend your dinner party, as well as the size of the party (e.g., a small intimate group or a large gathering). You should select a theme will appeal to the interests of the people attending the dinner party. Some recent themes and popular dinner party ideas include a Moroccan theme, Mexican theme, Murder Mystery theme or Hollywood theme. Bear in mind that all the arrangements (such as food, decorations, tabletop decor) have to match with the theme that you have planned.

Dinner party favor ideas – To make the dinner party more fun-filled and exciting, there is a range of dinner party favor ideas. For guests of all ages you can order dinner mints or delicious chocolates in custom tins or boxes. Other dinner party favor ideas include custom photo frames, and candy bars with special messages inside the wrapper.

Dinner party recipes – One of the most important parts of dinner party planning is deciding upon the dinner party recipes. You should decide upon a menu that will appeal to a wide variety of tastes. While deciding a menu, keep in mind that many of the people in today's world are health conscious and prefer food with less fat content and low carbs. Your dinner party recipes may start with low carbs food such as a vegetable platter. A crisp salad with sweet and savory notes is a good second course choice. Grilled fish is an easy and healthy main course. After the main course serve your guests mouth-watering desserts such as chocolate molten cake or cookies with homemade ice cream sandwiched in between. Serving champagnes is always a winning party idea.

With the above mentioned party ideas you will be able to please all the guests who attend your dinner party. It will be a memorable event not only for you as a host, but also for all the people attending your party!