Greeting Guests ~ Making People Comfortable
Greeting the GuestsGreeting the guests is only the beginning for the perfect birthday celebration. The responsibilities of the host or hostess are to greet the guests, make guest introductions as needed, and to mingle with the guests to make everyone feel welcomed and sociable. The Happy Birthday feeling is reinforced as each guest relaxes and mingles with others. Be prepared to greet guests at least 30 minutes before the party start time. Some guests like to arrive early. All the appetizers and beverages need to be ready 30 minutes before the party starts. Greeting guests is very simple - when the door bell rings, smile at each guest and say hello using his or her name. If you do not know the person's name, then be the first to say, "Hello, I do not believe that we have met." Get the guests name and remember the guests name for future introductions to others at the party. If the guest has a bag or coat, take them and hang them or lay them on a guest room bed. Make the bags and coats accessible to everyone. Take the guests to the beverage and appetizers and introduce him or her to several people along the way. If you need help with a guest, ask someone you know to help you with introductions while you attend to others.
Introducing GuestsThe goal in introducing guests is to create a simple relationship with the exchange of names. Most people will not remember a name if only heard one time. This is why introductions repeat names and give a reference in the introduction for the people to remember each other and start a conversation. Greeting guests includes making introductions in a friendly and supportive manner for each guest. Also remember to introduce women before men and elderly before the young. An example of an introduction would be: "Sam, this is by friend Betsy. She is in the Garden Club with me. Betsy, this is Sam. He is my brother's friend from work. I know that you both like to travel and have been to Europe recently." If you know that there are people invited to the party who do not know each other, having Name Tags available is often appreciated. Later encourage guests to continue mingling by taking them to meet others. This is a good time to thank people for coming to the Happy Birthday celebration!!!
Mingle with the GuestsObserve guest interactions and slowly mingle from group to group by greeting guests again to the party and thanking them for attending. Have a starting point and walk through the party stopping to listen and say hello without interrupting conversations. The responsibility of the host or the hostess is to observe if people are alone and to encourage others to join the person for conversation. As you mingle, only add to conversations that seem to be fading by mentioning something that the group may have in common, such as music, sports or hobbies. If you find someone who is alone and may help you for a moment with the party, ask them to help you. This gives them something to do and mingle with you for a while. For example, ask them to help make a drink or slice extra cheese. You may need to make more introductions or remind people of names at this point. Conversation During DinnerIf you are seated at a table and the conversation is limited, take the initiative to mention something that may be of interest to the group. For example, a recent sports victory, a house move, the arrival of a baby, promotions, pets, movies, or news. If you fail at one attempt, try again. Eventually people relax and start to talk more. As a general rule avoid politics, religion and taxes as topics of conversation. More Party Ideas
Perfect Birthday Celebrations - Homepage to Greeting Guests
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