LITTLE ROCK — DEAR READERS: If you are hosting a wedding, family reunion or other large event, you may be considering hiring a caterer. Call family, friends and business associates for recommendations. Here are some hints to help you if you meet with a caterer:
Take notes on the details of the foods and beverages being suggested. How will they be prepared, presented and served? On site? Fixed ahead and brought?
Determine the per-person price. What does this include: an open bar, wine, dessert, service, tips, cleanup and tax?
Establish a date for you to give the final head count. Set a cutoff date for last-minute guests, if you can. Will you be billed for no-shows?
Who provides tableware, table linens, trays, serving utensils and centerpieces? For a casual gathering, who gets leftover disposable plates, cups and napkins?
Finally, what cleanup does the caterer do? And who gets the leftovers?
When you have agreed on everything, get a written contract, which covers all details, large and small. Go over it carefully before signing.
DEAR HELOISE: Recently, you had some hints for using pantyhose that were no longer wearable, but you left out one of my favorite uses: as a paint strainer. Cut off a leg and stretch it over the rim of a clean paint pot. Then pour the paint from the original can through the nylon paint strainer into the paint pot.
- Doug Treadway, Baton Rouge, La.
DEAR HELOISE: My Sound Off is about the overwhelming use of “I mean” and “ya know” in everyday speech. Even people in the media, if not working from a script, will have one or both expressions at least once in almost every sentence.
- Sandy in Minnesota Send a money- or time-saving hint to Heloise, P.O. Box 795000, San Antonio, Texas 78279-5000; fax to (210) 435-6473; or e-mail
ActiveStyle, Pages 26 on 06/28/2010