We all need to simplify the way we entertain – sometimes I don’t know why I commit to it but yet I am desperate to spend time with friends I love.  I love entertaining but have had to cut back over the last couple of years because of the children.  I am exhausted by 7pm, ready to roll into bed with my remote and Netflix for company.  I am in awe of my girlfriends who entertain with such ease and style, and here is a leaf out of their books.

Entertaining at Christmas is a must especially if you are spending the holidays here. If you are staying here for Christmas, most likely you will be entertaining large amount of friends and family.  Christmas Eve and Christmas Day aren’t the only day that guests come round. It is usually the whole week leading up to actual event itself.

Get everything delivered where possible to your house taking advantage of Dubai’s growing network of home delivery services.  Greenheart Organic Farm will deliver it all from vegetables to now organic grass fed meat from Australia – so book deliveries for when guests start arriving if they haven’t already.  It will save you time if you pre-order some items now.

Greenheart Organic Farm will deliver OBE Organic beef to your home. With the new addition of meat, it really is the one-stop shop for the best organic products, available at a great price in the farm shop and online.

It is important to understand what good meat is.  It has to have two words descriptions.  Organic and Grass Fed.  I believe in investing in my family’s health – we don’t compromise over this at home, and it is important not to feed young, growing children meat injected with hormones.

OBE is one of the world’s most respected producers of certified organic grass-fed beef. Founded in the early 1990’s by a group of Australian farming families, it continues to bring consumers certified organic grass-fed beef from Australia:

Ideas for family dinners when guests come – plan a menu to simplify things.  It helps with shopping and working out numbers.

1. Steak and super salad

2. Chinese beef stir fry with organic vegetables served with jasmine rice.

3. BBQ beef marinated with spices, with organic roasted potatoes, and pasta salad.

4. Teriyaki beef seared beef, and finished off in the over with a Japanese style egg fried rice.

5. Roast beef lunch with yorkshire puddings and roast root vegetables.

6. Lasagna to keep in the freezer before their arrival to serve on busy days with a salad.

(keep a copy of Jamie Oliver’s by your bedside for inspiration)

Great dinner party games

Celebrity: Who am I?

This is a fun icebreaker. Write the names of celebrities on index cards. When each guest arrives pin a card onto the back of their shirt, so they cannot see who is written on the card.

Every guest gets a card and they must mingle and ask other guests questions to try and figure out who they are. Award prizes to the first to figure out who they are, or to everyone who figures out who they are within the first 30 minutes.

ALTERNATIVE: If there are mostly couples coming to the party or an even number of guys and gals, you can have the celebrity cards have one party of a celebrity couple written on it. When they figure out who they are they must then work to locate their celebrity partner. Do not pair up actual couples, it makes it too easy.

Trivial Pursuit

Get a fun, modern version, or one you know your particular group will love. Did you know there are more than 80 different versions of the game, ranging from sports, the silver screen, to even guys vs. girls?

Pictionary

Another classic, this game is fun for all, as players frantically sketch out a word, be it a person, animal, action, place, or one of their “difficult” words, while teammates scream out words that come to mind, all within 60 seconds.

Do remember every Thursday between 4pm and 6pm all fresh produce is reduced by 10% of the normal price at Greenheart Organic Farms.