Getting Guests to Leave

Sometimes, guests are having so much fun that they forget the specified end time of a dinner or party. Or that, beneath their smiles, the hosts may be really tired and aching for some R&R. What to do? Serving coffee isn't always the best way to cue guests to leave. Especially if it's warm weather, or the client didn't order tea or coffee service. There are other ways to get guests to leave besides the long standing tradition of serving coffee and dessert. Have your catering staff do some or all of the following:

Remove all food, plates, napkins, and the like. You may want to wait to remove the guests actual drink cups/glasses last.

Empty all garbage cans and recycle bins.

Begin moving and/or breaking down tables and chairs. The closer you are to guests when you do this, the more likely they are to get the visual cue to skedaddle.

Break down any bar stations, and remove all beverages.

Hosts, you can also disappear to your bedroom/quarters without saying goodnight. It may seem rude to not say goodbye. But if it's late, I don't think anyone can fault you. I can vouch for the success of this method from trying it at home as a last resort.

Perhaps the best cue of all is for guests to see the catering staff leaving. That happened at a recent event, and the last remaining guests stood up and began saying their goodbyes.

Comments

[Dr. Biggles]

This reminds me of the late '70's when I attended a party of sorts. The host very politely said to everyone that it was getting late and it was time for everyone to pack up and leave. I remember the look on everyone's faces, it was as though they'd been brought back to earth and it was cool. They understood and all was well. But it took a good slap in the face to wake them up and get them the hell out. I talked to him about it the next day and have adopted the same ever since. So far, no ill feelings and all is well. This is especially the case with boys/men. You cannot give us hints or anything remotely similar. Tell us what you want directly, and we'll usually do it.

xo, Biggles

[Jalapeno Girl]

Yup, I think folks forget the end time of events because they're having too good of a time. Great food and booze of course further the joyous feelings along. The unsubtle but polite way of telling people sounds like perhaps the best way to get rid of guests.