Written by contributor Sandy Coughlin of Reluctant Entertainer.

Getting to know people takes effort. Friendships don’t just happen. It’s what we teach our kids: You have to be a friend to have a friend.

And making a “summer dinner invite” is a perfect way to get to know new people!

This is also the easiest season to make entertaining moments happen! Menu planning is easier, as you can have people enter your yard through the side gate (and never step foot in your home, if that is your fear).

The great outdoors gives you all the decor you’d ever need, or you can even meet friends at the park for a picnic…the list goes on and on.

Think of it this way: If you are a shy person, or you have a quiet family, challenge yourself to talk more to people. Encourage your kids to talk more to their friends and to adults. Kids need to be shown how it’s done, so it’s our responsibility as adults to teach them how to be hospitable.

Entertaining means that we have to put ourselves aside and be willing to ask others about their lives. It takes risk on both sides to forge a new relationship.
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Written by contributor Sandy Coughlin of Reluctant Entertainer.

The 4th of July is right around the corner, and entertaining can be really fun and easy if you keep it simple and you have a plan! As I’ve reminded my readers for years at RE, learn to “KISS” and everything will flow nice and smooth. You’ll be a happier hostess, too.

KISS = Keep It Simple, Sister!

I remind myself of this when I try to do too much, or try to do it all. I learned years ago that delegation is the KEY.

Here are 8 steps that will help you plan your next outdoor party:

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Written by contributor Sandy Coughlin of Reluctant Entertainer.

It’s Eleanor Roosevelt who said that she tried to do something risky every day. Maybe something new, uncomfortable, or different.

Maybe that something “new” is hosting your first Easter dinner in your home this year, and you’re scared to death. I was fortunate because while I was growing up, my mother taught me a lot about entertaining—but I realize that many people didn’t have this sort of role model.

We can be so focused and locked into our busy schedules and routines that we skip one of the most important gifts that we can give ourselves and our children. That gift is practicing and showing our children what hospitality looks like.

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Written by Sandy Coughlin of Reluctant Entertainer.

Warmer connections come when we’re willing to take a chance.

If you’ve been following my 31 Days of Warm Connections series, I’m sharing today about friendships. I have friendships that go back almost 50 years—some 40, 30, 20, 10, as well as more recent friends. I’ve always told my daughter that friends are like a beautiful bouquet of flowers. The more you have, the more stunning the bouquet.

Last month, two of my newer friends came to my house on a Friday morning. All week long, I thought about my commitments, my list of chores, the last part of the garden that needed harvesting, canning, blogging … you name it. The list in my mind became overwhelming, and I tried to talk myself out of the invitation I had already made.

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