Etiquette Dinner
Reminder list
Did you allow youth leadership to do most of the planning or carrying out of assignments?
Do you have a speaker and/or video?
Do you have someone asked to say the blessing on the food? Do you want an opening song and closing prayer?
Is all of the food coming? Do you have a beverage? Did you assign people to bring it? (Don't do this all yourself! It is too much!)
Did you remind people to keep their receipts for reimbursement?
Do you know if the building has dishes? Are you going to use nice dishes or paper and plastic? What about napkins--paper or cloth?
Do you know where the centerpieces and tablecloths are? Do you have a key to get to them?
Do you need keys for any other room--library for pencils? Church, if you're coming extra early? Kitchen?
Do you have a tape player and tapes of soothing dinner music?
Do you have decorations? Are they easy to put up? Did you schedule enough time to put them up? Do you have people to decorate?
Ice for drinks?
Do you have a microphone for the speaker?
Do you have a TV and video player if you are using a video tape for the presentation?
If food needs to be reheated, are there available directions so the food isn't ruined?
Do you have people assigned to see how the meal is going and if anyone needs more food, drink, napkins, etc.?
Do you have copies of the handouts?
Do you have people assigned for set up, clean up, and doing dishes? (If the dinner looks like it will take a long time, it might be helpful to have people in the kitchen doing dishes while the dinner is still going on so you don't have to stay really late)
Do you have signs telling the youth where to go while they're waiting to be ushered in?
Do you know what you will do if behavior is not appropriate for the setting?
Have you invited people to serve the food?
Have you sent out a flyer detailing time, place, expected attire, expected behavior, etc.? Do parents know about it?
Have you sent out basic eating etiquette handouts to youth before the dinner so they can practice what they already learned? (Optional, but a very useful idea!)
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