One of the trickiest parts of entertaining in the cooler months is maintaining the temperature of your home or venue to keep everyone comfortable. As the weather turns, we begin dressing lighter, so your guests will come dressed slightly on the warm side to begin with. As we prepare for our party, we keep the temperature comfortable – but who hasn’t had to crack the windows or turn on the air conditioning mid-party? That’s because each person in the room adds their own body heat, and suddenly your guests are stripping off layers, suffering in the heat. The secret is to set the temperature in the room slightly on the cooler side before the guests arrive. If it’s really chilly, begin at a comfortable temperature, and then turn the heat down one or two notches as each guest arrives.As hosts, we can keep pretty warm while running around performing our host duties, but your guests could be quite a bit cooler, sitting and chatting or standing and mingling. If you’re unsure, ask one of your guests to keep the temperature in mind and inform you if it is getting too hot or cold in the party space. Remember – if you are running any sort of fire place in your entertaining space, you will have to adjust your temperature accordingly as well – about a 5-10 degree (Celsius).
