Where should dinner guests be seated? 20-40-60 answers

YOU ASK…  WE ANSWER… YOU DECIDE

Question: I am having a dinner party. How do I figure out where to seat people so that there is great conversation flow? Do husbands and wives need to sit next to each other?

Callie’s answer: To keep the flow of conversation I would not place husband and wives next to each other. They see/talk each other every day! NEW AND DIFFERENT!

To keep everyone in on the table conversation, put the most out- going people in the middle and work out from the middle. Also, so as to keep it simple I would put you and your spouse on the ends so that no one feels like they are on the end being left out.

Lillie-Beth’s answer:  Seating guests at a party takes more intuition than following a set of etiquette rules, although start with the rule that a guest of honor sits with the host. Group people together who might have interests in common, business or personal, so they have things to talk about. Keep personalities in mind that will mesh well together.

Mix it up if you can; best friends don’t have to be seated next to each other, but people who don’t like each other shouldn’t have to endure close seating either. It’s a lot to be aware of as a host.

Real Simple magazine has some great tips involving which personalities to sit where on its Web site, www.realsimple.com. Search “Dinner Party Seating Strategies.”

Helen’s answer: Many hosts and hostesses spend a great deal of time working on seating for dinner parties. They want to make sure their guests have a great time in their home.  Outgoing personality types are seated by those who are shyer. People with the same interests are seated  next to each other. If there is an even number for men and women, they are seated man, woman, man, woman.

We always have place cards at dinner parties, even for family members. My husband sits at one end of the table and I sit at the other. The guest of honor sits to the right of my husband, and a very special family member or friend sits on the other side so they won’t feel left out if they are not the guest of honor. The same for my end of the table. Usually the best conversationalists are in the center of the table, so they can talk to people on either side of them. We never seat husbands and wives together.  Our guests usually know each other and many of them have lived in Oklahoma City all of their lives, so they are happy wherever they sit. If there are new people at the table, they all want to get to know them.