2025 Inspo for Hosting: Where the Past Inspires the Future

Every year brings a wave of predictions about what lies ahead- what we’ll wear, eat, or obsess over. For hosting, one idea keeps surfacing: the return of the dinner party. Not the stiff, perfectly staged version that feels more like a perfect theme-obsessed performance than a gathering. No, this is something softer. More intentional. Hosting in 2025 should be about creating spaces where connection feels effortless and time seems to stretch in the best way possible.

Lately, I’ve been thinking about how the past can be our greatest guide to future gatherings. Not in a way that makes us long for something we’ve lost, but in a way that invites us to look deeper at the places, people, and memories that have shaped us—and to give them a new purpose in our lives today. Hosting something as intimate as a dinner party isn’t just about filling a table or impressing your guests. It’s about creating something that feels alive with meaning, like you’ve taken a piece of your story, a shared moment from the past, and made it tangible for others to experience.

This is an invitation to reimagine how we connect—to turn nostalgia into art and elevate the spaces where we come together. There are a few themes that have been lingering on my mind as we jump into the start of the year:

1. The Return of the Dinner Party: A Stage for Storytelling

Hosting a dinner party for a special occasion such as a birthday or a holiday will be a tradition that will stay with us until the end of time, but what if we brought people together for something even smaller or entirely unexpected? Imagine celebrating with family the day your grandmother was born—even if she’s no longer here—with dishes she loved and stories about her life. Or perhaps it’s a dinner to honor your best friend's anniversary of publishing her first book, turning the evening into a celebration of her journey and all the ways she inspires you.

The table itself then has the responsibility of becoming the storyteller. Layered with objects that hold shared meaning: photos printed from years past, handwritten notes at each seat recalling a favorite moment together, or even items that evoke the occasion—your friends’ book front and center on the table or worn and stained recipe cards that once belonged to your grandmother. These aren’t decorations; they’re threads in the tapestry of the evening.

For the menu, it can echo the story you’re telling. Serve those homemade biscuits from scratch your grandmother made every Sunday, elevated with a modern twist, or dessert could be as simple as a cake from your friend’s favorite bakery, each topped with flowers to mark her milestone. By grounding the evening in a specific story or person, you turn a simple dinner into something unforgettable—a celebration of life’s quiet but profound nostalgic moments.

A celebration of a story well-told

The book that inspired this dinner sits at the heart of the table, surrounded by personal touches—handwritten notes, thoughtful florals, and cake slices waiting to mark a milestone.

2. Sustainable Elegance: Beauty with a Conscience

Every weekend during summer months I witness guests spend hundreds and thousands on new decor for a few hours that ends up going to waste right after their event. What if everything from the ambiance to your table wasn’t just beautiful but already part of your life or borrowed from someone else? Imagine repurposing a balloon garland for a party your friend hosted a few months back or reaching out to a local decorator to ask if they are offering used decor for a discount (surprisingly balloons can usually keep their beauty and fullness for a few months), or using a stack of your books to serve as risers for platters, or your neighbor’s collection of mismatched candlesticks creating a layered, flickering centerpiece. Add in wildflowers or branches found on a walk through your neighborhood or the side of the street, their natural shapes and colors bringing effortless texture and life to the table.

Look around your home with fresh eyes. That distressed bedsheet you thought was too frayed? Layer it with another one and let the uneven edges create texture and depth for an avant-garde tablecloth. Those empty wine bottles you’ve been meaning to recycle? Fill them with eucalyptus, bare branches, or even a single wildflower in each. The beauty here lies in seeing everyday objects in a new light—turning what’s familiar into something extraordinary.

Old Wedding Dress Turned Tablecloth

An old wedding dress found a new purpose as a tablecloth, its delicate lace, and embroidery framing a cascade of wildflowers picked from the side of the road.

3. Nostalgia, Reimagined: The Power of Past Meets Present

Close your eyes and think about the places and moments that shaped you. The smell of your grandmother’s kitchen, the sound of a record playing in the next room, the feeling of grass under your feet at a family picnic. What if you could bottle that magic and uncork it for your guests?

Set up a dinner on a sprawling lawn, with blankets and low tables that feel casual but curated. Serve food that feels familiar yet fresh: mini grilled cheese sandwiches your mom made after school paired with a modern take on tomato bisque, or handmade vanilla cakes with homemade icing filled with seasonal fruit and iced just right. Let the soundtrack be vinyl records that your guests take turns choosing, each one sparking a story or a memory. Nostalgia doesn’t have to be literal—it’s about capturing the feeling and giving it a new form.

A cake layered with memories

The same recipe my mom used for my 5th birthday, also gracing the table for my 35th. It was a sweet reminder of how far we’ve come and the moments that connect us across time.

4. Surprise & Delight: Hosting in a Secret Nostalgic Location

Imagine inviting your guests to a place they never expected but that feels like stepping into a story only you could tell. Maybe it’s an Airbnb in the neighborhood where you grew up, or a farmhouse an hour away that echoes the architecture of your dad’s childhood home. Keep the location a mystery until the day before, and let the reveal feel like part of the event.

Once there, let the space guide the experience. If it’s a pool house, evoke the magic of summer with dishes like charred corn salad, grilled peaches drizzled with honey, and craft cocktails that nod to childhood lemonade stands. If it’s a cabin, create warmth with a one-pot braise, thick slices of rustic bread, and a dessert like spiced apple cake served with freshly whipped cream. By tying the location to your memories, you’re not just hosting—you’re sharing a part of yourself.

A dinner party on Lookout Mountain

Revisiting the place that held my teenage summers, was reimagined with family and friends in a way that feels completely my own.

5. The "Unplugged Gathering": Presence Over Perfection

In a world where everything is documented, imagine creating a space where nothing needs to be. When your guests arrive, invite them to leave their phones in a box lined with velvet or linen. In return, give them something tangible—a Polaroid camera to capture the evening in a way that feels analog and intimate, or photos from a trip a few years back to take a walk down memory lane, a handwritten card with a thoughtful question: What moment from childhood or your teens would you relive if you could?

As the evening unfolds, build moments that don’t need a screen to feel remarkable. Pass around a jar of prompts that spark reflection or laughter: What’s the boldest thing you’ve ever done? Or what meal would you eat every day if you could? Hosting like this isn’t about impressing; it’s about creating space for something real.

Moments captured, not staged

Just Polaroids scattered across the table, each one telling a story. In a world that’s always online, this was a gathering where presence mattered more than perfection.

Final Thought: Your Year, Your Table

As I spend more time with families at L’Eau Hill and Norwood Vineyard, I feel even more sure that hosting is never about perfection—it’s about intention. I’m excited to explore the concept fully of how inviting the past to meet the present, creating spaces that reflect who you are, and giving your guests a moment they couldn’t experience anywhere else except for with you - your presence, your creativity, your past.

This year, I hope we all create gatherings that matter and take the memories we hold and use them to build something new. I believe we can all host in a way that lingers longer than the end of an event.

Here’s to your next gathering and the stories it will tell.

With love,
Erika