What do you spend to impress a dinner guest. I don’t mean on food I mean on your home?
Well this was the subject of a survey from homeware-for-less retailer HomeSense which revealed that Brits typically spend £134 refreshing their homes to impress dinner guests.
Oh wow…£134 average!
One in five confess to spending more than £250, 7% more than £500 and nearly one in ten (7%) have even bought a new TV before hosting a dinner party!
Do you go to these extremes?
I have to admit we don’t host many dinner parties (I am not much of a cook to be honest) But on the odd occasion when I do host one I really do pull out all the stops and declutter like mad! And I absolutely always buy flowers. But for me that is probably about it in terms of expense. I think £134 sounds a huge amount to spend- but I do keep a thrifty home.
The research,polled 2,000 men and women from ages 18 to over 60 and gathered some interesting results.They found that the guests that primarily make us want to splash out on our homes are family (26%), friends (22%), love interests (17%) and bosses (7%) Women were surprisingly found to be less concerned with impressing dinner guests than men and 21% more likely to decorate due to day-to-day wear-and-tear than due to visitors.
The HomeSense report also explored other reasons people splash out on their homes, finding that men are twice as likely to redecorate than women, knowing that pictures of their abode will be shared on social media ( by women) this made me laugh! Despite men being more conscious of social media than women when it came to home décor 40% of men admitted that their partners buy the majority of home items with nearly half of male participants accepting help from their mothers and grandmothers.
Take a look at the top 10 items that people purchase when looking to impress a dinner guest.
So what are Brits buying to impress their dinner guests?
Flowers / Pot Plant 33%
Candles 29%
Table Cloth 23%
Cushions 21%
Lamps 14%
Rugs 14%
Throw 12%
Painting 11%
Vase 11%
TV 7%
As I suspected flowers top the poll but a new TV? I am flabbergasted.
I would love to know what you do to impress your dinner guests!
Offering homeware at to 60% less than the recommended retail price, HomeSense sources quality and branded products from around the globe, making buying those impressive finishing touches easier on the pocket and still impressive for important guests.
Sorry, what?! I might spend £20 on flowers because I like the dinner table to look nice, but sometimes not even that. If I pay attention to details like using real (as opposed to paper) napkins, laying the table nicely, cooling the wine, having some nibbles, but none of that has anything to do with spending money to impress somebody, it’s just about making people feel welcome. When I host a dinner it’s generally for people who know me and who really don’t care about what I have or don’t have in my home. They usually love the food, wine, atmosphere and conversation. As for a tv to impress guests…that’s just wrong on so many levels… 😉
Oh I agree!
Blimey. I don’t spend anything. I just make sure the house is super tidy and do a spot of styling 🙂 aka Faffing.
I am a great one for faffing
£134, that’s crazy! Or maybe they’re just massively insecure about their home and have to spend loads to try and keep up with the Joneses?!
Such a lot I agree!
WOW, I had absolutely no idea it would come to that amount. I think I agree with the flowers and plants, I would do that in the main rooms they visit, perhaps a reed diffuser in the loo? MAybe its because dinner parties are things that people just don’t do anymore, so they use it as an excuse to have a refresh in their home? Any excuse for new cushions is a good one for me!
ah yes I do always buy some fragrance you right dinner parities are few and far between these days
Totally agree with Carole, dinner parties are all about the atmosphere, lots of candles and flowers, which needn’t be expensive. a good bottle of wine and I’m sure guests won’t care a jot about what the place looks like 😉
Interesting! Although I must admit I spend on all those things frequently even when I’m not expecting guests. That’s not a good thing to admit right? 😉
Wow, I definitely don’t spend anywhere near that if I have guests round for dinner. Then again to make my home acceptable at the moment I’d be better off paying for self storage to house all the kids toys.