Last night I hosted our Annual Sayonara Summer Party. It started years ago as a huge birthday party for my daughter. My birthday is right after Christmas (which stinks, by the way), so I always loved taking advantage of my daughter’s summer birthday. As my daughter got older, she wanted smaller and smaller festivities. But my family and friends got used to our shin-digs at the end of summer. They love all the food, the farm fruit pies I make, the decadent lasagnas, the ribs my hubby lovingly grills, all the crazy stories my Italian dad tells. The kids make a bee-line to the basement playroom and they don’t come up for air until dessert. I am proud to say that the event is looked forward to by our loved ones, and it’s something my husband and I really work hard on all month to get ready for.
It dawned on me today, as I came out of my exhaustion and fog from all the fun and hard work yesterday, that no one, including me, took out a smart phone and took a picture to post anywhere.
No selfies, no group pictures or silly photos eating chicken wings or giant pieces of pie.
To be completely transparent, these were the only two pictures I took, and they were before and after my party. It was of my killer dessert table which I was pretty proud of.
Everyone was too busy eating, conversing, laughing and enjoying themselves that no one felt the need to document it and share what we were doing with the world.
Even I, with 1600+ twitter followers and a blog to nurture weekly, did not feel the need to document every move my guests made and every bite they took. I just was in the moment, focusing on my food and spending time with my guests. I put the pressure of needing to share to the world by the wayside and just enjoyed myself and my loved ones. I have to admit, it was the most enjoyable party I hosted in a while.
SO next time you have a dinner party, urge your guests to put the smart phones away for a little while. Create an environment that everyone can be in the present and really enjoy their time with you. You work hard on your dinners and preparing your event. Be in the moment. Let your guests be in the moment. Trust me, when simply enjoying the moment is all they need to worry about then that’s all that happens!
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