How to prepare for entertaining guests this Easter weekend

Easy ways to get organised ahead of welcoming friends and family for long weekend so you won't feel under pressure

Sat, 30 Mar, 2024 - 00:00

Carol O’Callaghan

Preparing for guests gives you a different perspective on your home. A critical eye cast over the spare room might focus on the need for a lick of paint when your visitors will only notice the lovely fresh, comfortable bed in a spotless bedroom and soft towels for post-travel ablutions.

No one expects a five-star hotel experience as a house guest but there are some necessities when entertaining in my experience: A relaxed host, a clean home, good uncomplicated food, and a lovely table which can go a long way towards balancing out any shortcomings in your grasp of the culinary arts.

“An Easter dinner is an intimate family event to celebrate heritage and the start of a new season,” says Kate O’Dowd, tablescape designer and owner of Dublin-based Love & Gatherings wedding planners. “It’s a gift to the people joining you to do a nice table.”

Fresh green tableware with pink napery is a fresh look for Easter and spring, with the colour duo harking back to the 1980s for nostalgia. Picture: Furniture and Choice

But while we might have plenty of time off to plan Easter Sunday lunch for family and friends, and get back to normal before work on Tuesday, there’s more to celebrate, according to Kate.

“What I love about Easter is it’s the first taste of summer but with lots of nostalgia too. I love spring bulbs in glass vases on the table with their roots growing that will last a week and my Nana’s classic Willow pattern china. It’s a lovely way to honour tradition.”

Easter is definitely an opportunity to bring out the more precious plates and glassware we keep for special occasions, but it’s easy to end up with a tablescape you’d have for an average Sunday roast.

“I love the aesthetic of layering things up,” Kate says. “A placemat or charger will ground the tablescape. I like to go wild with texture. I love a blue ticking tablecloth and rattan placemats with scalloped napkins, Scallops are huge this year and so are bows. I add them on napkins, on the bases of wine glasses or candlesticks.”

Tableware and napery from Penneys this season feature pretty pastels; wares from €8, ditsy tablecloth, €12.50.

Given how tablescaping has become as important to home interior enthusiasts as styling any other part of the home, candles are a key element if you’re opting for dinner instead of lunch, according to Kate.

“Tall tapered candles are on the wane and we’re back to chunky dinner candles which burn better,” she says. “Hand-rolled beeswax candles give that lovely clean medicinal scent, although they might encourage bees. For centrepieces, I love a bit of fun but there’s a fine balance between whimsy and descending into a toddler birthday party.”

Nevertheless, Easter has such significance for children that Kate likes to get them involved. “A handwritten menu with illustrations is a job for the kids.”

Rattan gives texture to a more minimal, tablecloth-free tablescape Picture: The Braided Rug Company

It isn’t always obvious but guests really appreciate you are hosting and all they have to do is show up, while you might end up tied to the kitchen, which makes planning out the catering essential for stress-free entertaining, according to American, Kinsale-based Celeste Pianezzola of private chef service Spoon and Scallop.

“People will remember one good dish than 13 okay dishes,” she says, and she doesn’t consider it necessary to go all out with multiple dishes to make a good impression.

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Referencing her Corkonian father-in-law, she says, “He makes a great mince plait. It’s simple but it’s glorious. Put your love into one dish and do it very well. Pre-plan, read your recipes and think about how everything is going to fit if you have one or two ovens.”

But she also considers employing other kitchen equipment to free up oven space.

“Cook your lamb in the slow cooker,” she says. “Season or marinate the night before and plug it in on the day. First thing in the morning, whip up a meringue roulade. You can use a shop-bought curd and whipped cream. This leaves your oven-free later for roast potatoes and carrots. On the stove top have an asparagus and pea soup and gravy.”

For a spring touch in a guest bedroom, Next’s floral Easter Bunny duvet and pillowcase is fresh and seasonal; €30 for a 4’6” size.

Given we’re in the age of food restrictions, catering for vegetarians and the gluten-intolerant can create more work to include a second main course, which, according to Celeste, can also make the vegetarian or gluten-free guest feel excluded. Her solution?

“Ask the vegetarian to prepare a main course to introduce the veggie option to the group,” she says. “Do it as an invitation, though, so they don’t feel like the outsider.”