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THE LAZY HOSTESS

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Babe Scott, a.k.a The Lazy Hostess knows a thing or two about entertaining at home… 

As a single mum who has not given up her stilettos, I think taking up my saucepan was the only way I could maintain any sort of social life. As any busy mother knows, it’s hard to go out when you have a small child so why not invite the world into your lounge room? Rather than spend my time at home feeling like the Birdwoman of Alcatraz, with my nose pressed to the windows wondering what the neighbours were doing and crying into my b-cups, I became a siren of the

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stovetop.

Being a single mum was the catalyst for me transforming myself into an entertaining queen and Lazy Hostess. I found that my pantry really was a passport to popularity. Hosting regular cocktail parties and dinner parties meant that I didn’t have to feel like the world was passing me by while I was stuck at home. It also meant that I had a regular stream of potential suitors rather than bemoaning the fact that the last male in my house was the TV repairman. And my daughter can now sleep through the noise of a jet aircraft.

My whole

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philosophy about entertaining is that you do it to amuse yourself not prove yourself. The funny thing is the more selfish you are about it, the more successful you are as a hostess. Those hostesses who knock themselves out cooking and stressing are the ones who are usually still in the kitchen when their guests arrive rather than air-kissing and cocktail swilling. I believe a happy and stress-free hostess makes for a happy night. If I’m having fun, everyone else will too.

This is why I’ve minted menus out of pantry staples that are so easy a child

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could make them. Fabulous food doesn’t require fussy, hard-to-find ingredients. If my friends want to eat edible flowers they can help themselves to the vase. I also turn the whole preparation for a party into a communal event by appointing a kitchen co-pilot to help me prepare dishes and taste test, not to mention share a tipple with. And there is always a post-party, cocktail-propelled cleaning crew to help me deal with the aftermath.

I also avail myself of whatever talents my friends possess and delegate tasks accordingly. For instance, one friend

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likes to dress as Elvis and serenade my guests; another is good with decor so she helps me spruce up my space; another loves to take paparazzi-style pics and so on. In short, I let all my guests sing for their supper (and some literally). This way my parties are a participation sport and there is also less work for me.

One of the key ingredients to a good party is a fairly even representation of the opposite sex. We’ve all been to gatherings where the testosterone-to-estrogen ratio is so askew you feel as if you are sipping Cosmopolitans on

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Cheerleader Island. And even if you are comfortably coupled up, you don’t want your guy to feel like Captain Crusoe.

If I need to up the testosterone ratio, I tell my girlfriends the price of entry is to bring an eligible single man, preferably one I’ve never met. Rather than calling these ”singles parties,” which can create too much social pressure (the term can induce a facial tic in most men), I call these ”One Degree of Separation Parties.” This wildcard social element adds some frisson as well as an element of surprise to the evening. It’s

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no fun if you just endlessly recycle the usual suspects without adding any fresh faces.

Entertaining can help any selfish mother conquer the world without leaving home.

 

Babe Scott’s new book, The Lazy Hostess, is available at waterstones.co.uk, WHSmith or amazon.co.uk, RRP£12.99. For more information go to babescott.com

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- 7 Nov 13

Babe Scott, a.k.a The Lazy Hostess knows a thing or two about entertaining at home… 

As a single mum who has not given up her stilettos, I think taking up my saucepan was the only way I could maintain any sort of social life. As any busy mother knows, it’s hard to go out when you have a small child so why not invite the world into your lounge room? Rather than spend my time at home feeling like the Birdwoman of Alcatraz, with my nose pressed to the windows wondering what the neighbours were doing and crying into my b-cups, I became a siren of the stovetop.

Being a single mum was the catalyst for me transforming myself into an entertaining queen and Lazy Hostess. I found that my pantry really was a passport to popularity. Hosting regular cocktail parties and dinner parties meant that I didn’t have to feel like the world was passing me by while I was stuck at home. It also meant that I had a regular stream of potential suitors rather than bemoaning the fact that the last male in my house was the TV repairman. And my daughter can now sleep through the noise of a jet aircraft.

My whole philosophy about entertaining is that you do it to amuse yourself not prove yourself. The funny thing is the more selfish you are about it, the more successful you are as a hostess. Those hostesses who knock themselves out cooking and stressing are the ones who are usually still in the kitchen when their guests arrive rather than air-kissing and cocktail swilling. I believe a happy and stress-free hostess makes for a happy night. If I’m having fun, everyone else will too.

This is why I’ve minted menus out of pantry staples that are so easy a child could make them. Fabulous food doesn’t require fussy, hard-to-find ingredients. If my friends want to eat edible flowers they can help themselves to the vase. I also turn the whole preparation for a party into a communal event by appointing a kitchen co-pilot to help me prepare dishes and taste test, not to mention share a tipple with. And there is always a post-party, cocktail-propelled cleaning crew to help me deal with the aftermath.

I also avail myself of whatever talents my friends possess and delegate tasks accordingly. For instance, one friend likes to dress as Elvis and serenade my guests; another is good with decor so she helps me spruce up my space; another loves to take paparazzi-style pics and so on. In short, I let all my guests sing for their supper (and some literally). This way my parties are a participation sport and there is also less work for me.

One of the key ingredients to a good party is a fairly even representation of the opposite sex. We’ve all been to gatherings where the testosterone-to-estrogen ratio is so askew you feel as if you are sipping Cosmopolitans on Cheerleader Island. And even if you are comfortably coupled up, you don’t want your guy to feel like Captain Crusoe.

If I need to up the testosterone ratio, I tell my girlfriends the price of entry is to bring an eligible single man, preferably one I’ve never met. Rather than calling these “singles parties,” which can create too much social pressure (the term can induce a facial tic in most men), I call these “One Degree of Separation Parties.” This wildcard social element adds some frisson as well as an element of surprise to the evening. It’s no fun if you just endlessly recycle the usual suspects without adding any fresh faces.

Entertaining can help any selfish mother conquer the world without leaving home.

 

Babe Scott’s new book, The Lazy Hostess, is available at waterstones.co.uk, WHSmith or amazon.co.uk, RRP£12.99. For more information go to babescott.com

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