The key to a successful a party host or hostess is to make your guests feel welcomed and entertained. Some people are just good at it. One of the best is my mother. After spending a weekend at my mom’s a friend once said to me: “Your mom has a gift, she is both interested and interesting”.
My mom turned 100 in August and she is still going strong. Mom started college when she was just 16, took college classes till she was 97 and still wants to learn today. Past being smart, she is a secret weapon at dinner parties. Mom is one of those rare people that really listen to her guests. (Featured picture has mom 100 listening to her great grandson Declan 3) She has the ability to focus on what her guests are saying and play back an interesting insight to complement her guest’s point.
(Note: This is a picture of Mom Mom telling a story at Jennifer and Ethan’s wedding. Her “stories” have become a fixture at the family’s weddings. After her most recent performance, an investment banker friend recommended she start a business for weddings…”Rent a mom-mom for stories that will make you laugh and cry”.)
One of my largest complaints in life is that brains ran in my family, but when it came to me, they walked. Unlike my mom, I am not a great listener. Instead of focusing on what you are saying to me, I am thinking about what I am going to say.
Beyond being interested and interesting, mom is a great cook. She is famous for her Mom Mom’s Vinaigrette. She lived in Westhampton NY for years and got a lot of visitors in the summer. The local produce out there in the summer is outstanding. Most of the meals mom serves center around a great salad. The cornerstone of her salad is her vinaigrette. She claims the origination is a recipe in the New York Times, but I believe the beauty of it comes form her herb garden and the fact that she never makes it the same way twice.
Mom Mom’s Salad
Mom’s Herb Garden
Mom enjoying her glass of wine under the arbor
Mom enjoying a glass of wine at her 100th birthday party
If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery then this vinaigrette is legendary. My daughter Jennifer once surveyed Mom-mom’s other grandchildren and their spouses and 8 out of 10 use mom’s vinaigrette as a culinary staple. One reason is that it tastes great. The other reason is that it reminds them of their youth spending summers with their amazing grandmother.
If you can make your guests feel welcomed and entertained you will be a success.
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