The Smartest Strategy For Serving Drinks At Your Next Buffet Party

Hosting friends and family is a labor of love. Inevitably, there's one person who arrives too early and distracts you from finishing up in the kitchen or a guest who brings an odd gift you're not sure what to do with. While we can't protect you from ill-timed arrivals or unruly cousins, our tips for how to plan the ultimate holiday party buffet are a game-changer for any buffet party. 

In many ways, a buffet is a much simpler method for having a large number of people over for a meal, as cooking, plating, and serving individual courses can be stressful and take the joy out of entertaining. With a buffet party, all the work is done beforehand and you are mostly free to enjoy the party with everyone else. However, with an assortment of food and drinks comes the need for strategic planning.

One of the easiest things you can do to minimize crowding is to set up a separate table or area designated for beverages, ideally as far away from the food as possible. To keep things running smoothly, you can provide a batched cocktail, ice with tongs, and empty glasses for guests to pour drinks, or even empty glasses next to a large punch bowl or a container filled with ice for wine bottles, beers, and other cold beverages. 

Be sure to leave a small kitchen or hand towel nearby for any drips or spills. If you have the space available, keep hot beverages like coffee, tea, or mulled wine spaced apart or separated from cold beverages like iced tea or chilled wine.

Another benefit of serving the drinks apart from the food is that there are no opportunities for guests to drip or accidentally spill a drink onto any food, making things both more sanitary and appealing. Placing food and beverages apart from one another aids in the congestion of the entertaining space as well, so some guests can grab drinks while others are filling their plates at the buffet.

Throughout the party, make sure to keep an eye on the time and temperature of the food you're serving at a home buffet, and be mindful of how hot the food should be and for how long it can sit out. A separate table is wise for not only drinks but for desserts as well. Martha Stewart's go-to method of serving desserts at dinner parties is to have a dedicated table for a dessert buffet. Keeping different groupings of food, drinks, and desserts separate at a buffet party will help to ensure a more calm, organized environment for both you and your guests.