| We usually have small groups, which makes it easy, but we have handled a crowd before. Our old house was 800 sq ft, and we had 24 people once! We had groups in each room, including the garage and back porch (we live in FL). The garage party was the biggest group, because that's where the bar was! Although you may only have regular seating for six, there are always movable chairs and folding chairs. We've even used outdoor furniture in a pinch. If people are your friends, they shouldn't mind. When we first moved into our house, we put BYOC (Bring your own chair) on the invitations! Most folks did, and it was a funny ice-breaker for the party. Another option, which is what we plan to do when we build our next house, is to incorporate a big room into one end of our barn for entertaining. My mother had a set-up like that at her house. It had heat and A/C, but she only ran it when the barn was actually in use. We're also going to use that room as a guest cottage, because several family members are allergic to pet dander, and we have a dog and 2 cats. The barn will be designated a 'no pet zone' so our allergic friends can visit and stay. We'll put a bathroom out there as well. The barn will also have a high ceiling, so we can put a huge Christmas tree out there. It makes no sense to me to have a big home for entertaining unless you do it all the time. We don't, so our house will be just right for two people, with expansion room for guests. |
