Be Our Guest

By Lisa Arnett
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How to keep visitors fed, comfortable, and entertained this holiday season

When it comes to seasonal celebrations, there’s no one-size-fits-all. We’ve tapped local experts to share their best entertaining tips, sure to come in handy whether you’re hosting a formal Thanksgiving dinner, a laid-back Chrismukkah gathering, or a blowout New Year’s Eve bash. If you’re also taking on the added labor of hosting out-of-towners, you’ll appreciate our pointers for prepping your guest room, courtesy of nearby hoteliers. 

Toast with the most

Food and drinks for maximum merry-making

When entertaining at home, Renee DiSanto loves to rely on simple appetizers that require minimal prep. “I have a blended family with six kids, so our house can be pretty chaotic at times. When we do have friends and family over to entertain, it just expands,” says DiSanto, who owns three Glen Ellyn businesses: kitchen store Marcel’s, gourmet food and wine shop Marché, and interior design firm and cocktail parlour Park & Oak. “Instead of a formal sit-down dinner, it’s nice to put out a spread of snacks so people can move around and talk to different people,” she says. “I always have a cheese board. It’s the perfect thing to begin with, because it promotes mingling and encourages people to try different things together.” Start with at least one soft cheese (goat cheese, Brie), a semisoft or medium-firm cheese (Gouda, Havarti), and a firm variety (Manchego, Gruyère, aged cheddar). DiSanto likes to include a rare or less-common pick to impress the cheese connoisseurs in attendance; her personal favorite is Alp Blossom, an Alpine cheese crusted in rose petals. “It took us a year to get at Marché, and once we go through it, it might take another year to get it again,” she says. 

Dips and spreads are DiSanto’s other go-to. “I love to pick up pimento cheese spread and salmon spread at Marché, and then I just cut up a baguette and put it around the spread. It’s easy and delicious,” she says. “Or I’ll buy Burrata and add olive oil, salt, pepper, basil, and sliced tomatoes and, again, cut up a baguette. It’s a really nice presentation that’s so easy to do.”

Looking for a crowd-pleasing wine to uncork? “Right now it seems like everyone is asking for Sancerre,” DiSanto says. “It is 100 percent Sauvignon Blanc from the eastern Loire Valley of France, and it’s a very crisp white wine that is easy to pair with different foods—cheese, seafood, poultry. It’s great in the summer, but I think people will continue to drink it throughout the fall.” 

Bartender Nicholas Janettas is a big fan of mulled wine for holiday parties. “You can buy a few bottles and warm it up in a Crock-Pot,” says Janettas, who manages Barrel & Heritage in Naperville. Formerly Tasting DeVine Cellars, the bar serves wines from Roselle-based Lynfred Winery along with a recently added lineup of whiskeys. “Our Winter Spice red wine is already spiced, but some people like to add some cinnamon sticks, orange slices, or cloves to brighten it up a bit and make it your own.” 

Buying a sparkling wine for a New Year’s Eve toast or holiday brunch? “I tell our customers that generally a bottle is about four glasses,” Janettas says. “If you’re making mimosas, you could squeeze another two or three glasses out of the bottle.” DiSanto is partial to a signature cocktail made with sparkling wine. “At Park & Oak, we have a few sparkling cocktails. The most popular one is the French Fog, which is pear vodka, lemon juice, St. Germain [elderflower liqueur], and then you top it with Prosecco,” she says. 

For those who prefer merrymaking sans booze, make sure your spirit-free options aren’t an afterthought. “I suggest having some fun nonalcoholic beverages that are not just soda,” says Molly Conklin, director of catering and conference services at Hotel Arista in Naperville. “It’s important for those who don’t drink—or who aren’t drinking on that particular evening—to also be able to have a pretty beverage in a nice glass.” 

Fun and games

Entertainment to keep the vibes high

Music is a must for any gathering, says Tony Ho, owner of Sounds Abound Entertainment, a Naperville-based DJ service. “It’s the bass line to support the party. It’s not the main event like at a wedding reception where there’s dancing, but you need music to fill the space when people are eating and not talking,” he says. “When conversation is not taking place, and there is nothing in the background, it becomes very awkward.” 

As far as music selection goes, “I think it’s always a good idea to have a theme,” Ho says. Maybe that’s playing vintage holiday records from your grandparents’ collection for a cocktail party, or ’80s tunes from a Spotify playlist for an ugly sweater soirée. Considering content and volume are especially important for an all-ages party, Ho advises. “Look for edited versions of songs. You want everyone to feel comfortable, and anything that’s too inappropriate can change the mood of the party and take it to a place you don’t want to,” he says. “And when you have little ears and older ears, you want to make sure you keep the volume conversation friendly so the music says in the background.”

Diane Moore, owner of Moore Toys & Gadgets in Wheaton, likes to have at least one puzzle on hand at her parties. “People can kind of walk by and do a little bit of it and walk away,” she says. “And it’s always better if you can get somebody to get it started ahead of time. Maybe someone comes early, and you don’t have anything for them to do, or you don’t want them to get in the way in the kitchen but you want them to feel helpful. Ask them to flip over all the pieces so the right side is showing, and even just start a corner of it.” An aesthetically pleasing coffee table game like Otrio—a wooden board with colorful concentric circles—also can draw guests in. “It’s tic-tac-toe on steroids, and it’s a beautiful game,” Moore says. “I also like a game that’s fast and easy to learn, like Tenzee. It can be ages 3 and up, and there are all different ways to play it. It has colorful dice and is a good game to just have out.” If you’re not ready to invest in games just for one occasion, Moore also offers games for rent at her shop. “For $5, you can rent the game for a week. And then when you bring it back, if you loved it you can use that money toward a fresh copy,” she says. “It’s great for empty nesters who have downsized and gotten rid of all their games.”

For an adults-only occasion, Moore loves Slip It In by Glen Ellyn–based Gray Matter Games. “It sounds a little risqué, but it’s not—it’s a game you play in the background when everyone gets to your house,” she says. Each player selects a card with a phrase to slip into conversation without tipping off others. “We do this at Thanksgiving and Christmas, and my cousin’s husband has all kinds of crazy animals [as pets]. He said, ‘I’ve been thinking about getting a ferret.’ We were all like, ‘Of course you are!’ but that was his Slip It In phrase, and nobody caught him.” She recommends it for adults only, because some phrases reference life experiences that younger guests can’t pull off—“A 12-year-old can’t slip in a phrase about her college roommate, for example,” she says—but cards could be culled ahead of time if needed. 

The right game also can unite a mixed-age group. “In my family, we always do a game together after dinner—last Christmas we had as young as age 4 up to my in-laws who are 80,” says Kerry Clemm, marketing manager for Anderson’s Bookshop in Naperville, which recently brought toys and games back in-house after closing its neighboring Anderson’s Toyshop. She suggests games like Bunco and Zingo. “If you can count, you can do Bunco, and even really little kids can sit on a lap and help throw dice,” she says. “[Zingo] is genuinely fun for adults too, but the little ones can still participate on their own, which makes them feel like the bee’s knees when they are part of the big group.”

Looking for a kids’ table diversion? Clemm and Moore both agree that’s a job for squishies, the viral stress ball-like fidgets that have kids, tweens, and teens fully obsessed. “Kids get really excited about them, and they trade them around and like to show them off,” Clemm says. “It would win you mad street cred with them…and be the No. 1 thing you could put at the kids’ table that will keep them quiet and happy.” 

Rest easy

Welcome overnight guests with a flourish

Raina Spasov, general manager of The Drake Oak Brook, spends her days anticipating the needs of guests from near and far at the hotel. At home, she often hosts family and friends from out of state and overseas. “It’s all about creating a meaningful arrival,” Spasov says. “If I know what they like, I will get them their favorite fruit or chocolate, or something else that they love, like their favorite Bundt cake, cheesecake, or bottle of wine. Just like at a hotel when you have repeat guests, you get to know them and every single time they come back, you’re making them feel like home, like they’re part of the family. That, to me, is very important.”

If your spare room tends to be a catchall most of the year, now’s the time to clear the clutter so your guests have room to roll in their luggage and move around comfortably. “I always make the bed nicely and put an extra set of towels on the bed, in addition to the ones in the bathroom,” Spasov says. “I always turn on a nightlight, too. If they’re arriving at night, it’s more welcoming when you walk into the room.” Her finishing touch is a bottle of water on the nightstand. “It’s such a small thing, but I don’t want them to wake up in the middle of the night not knowing where to go to get water,” she says. 

When guests arrive at Hotel Arista in Naperville, “one thing everybody comments on…is how good it smells,” Conklin says. “We have these really subtle scent machines sporadically placed. Now, I don’t have scent machines at home, but I think about: What can I do to bring in a scent of some sort? Whether it’s through floral or greenery, or diffusers—something to make it smell nice and inviting.”

If you’re having guests over who are staying for several days, there is one more thing to keep in mind: “Not everybody likes to be super social 24/7,” Conklin says. “You might show them where the coffee’s at and how to brew it, so if they’re an early riser and you’re not, they feel at-home to grab their beverage and things like that.” If they’re unfamiliar with the neighborhood, share your local expertise for solo outings—like your favorite running path nearby or a café within walking distance.

Photos: Marcel’s Culinary Experience, Park & Oak (French Fog), Lynfred Winery (wine); getty images (game), Jill Tiongco Photography