Since we moved into the new house, we’ve had several parties – the annual Holiday party, Trey’s birthday bash, a Mexican-inspired cooking party – but we haven’t actually had a dinner party. Having heavy finger food that keeps people moving and conversing is very different than having to entertain nine people around a dinner table.

We wanted everyone to be able to sit together – no kids table here! Our current dining table seats 6 comfortably. However, we have a teak outdoor table which could easily seat 12 if needed, with the table wings extended, so that is what we went with. We had enough nice square plates in two patterns that would work together and silverware was no problem either. For napkins, we wanted to do a farm-to-table look so we got simple kitchen towels with different blue patterns from IKEA. 4 for $4 = done! As for glassware, instead of going to buy a few more Pottery Barn glasses to make sure they all matched, we went with pint Mason jars. A colorful table runner, a few carafes of water and pitchers of tea and lemonade (both easily spike-able if you wanted an “adult version”) rounded off the bones of the table.  A nice bouquet of confetti roses (Trey’s favorite!) brought the table to a nice, spring-y feel. 

For lunch, we had an 11-pound ham, homemade potato salad, campanelle and cheese, as well as yeast rolls glazed with honey butter and finished with a pinch of kosher salt on them. Our guests finished the menu with baked asparagus with Parmesan and lemon, a Spring salad with walnuts, strawberries, raspberries and feta over mixed greens and a crock pot full of Manchego mashed New Potatoes.

For dessert, we made a homemade lemon pound cake. One of our guests (who is leaving for her dream job in NYC in a few weeks) brought a Baskin Robbins ice cream cake. We even took a break before dessert by watching the dogs chase each other outside and we didn’t die of pollen poisoning – this is Atlanta in the Spring after all!

We all had an absolute blast! All the prep work and cleaning paid off for a stress-free Easter lunch around the dinner table!