Shloka Sensarma© Shloka Sensarma

Shloka Sensarma’s Guide To Being The Perfect Party Host

Salva Mubarak
Senior Features Writer

There are two things that fashion and lifestyle influencer Shloka Sensarma absolutely loves: getting dressed up and hosting people at her house (not necessarily in that order.

“It’s my favourite thing to do! My home has always been the one where everyone comes over. My husband and I have people over for dinner multiple times a week. So whether we’re hosting a games night, movie night, or a Christmas dinner, I just love being a host,” she exclaims.

The influencer’s content creation journey began when she made the big move from India to London to study. It quickly became apparent to her that visiting London as a tourist is much different than living there full-time. “I was trying to navigate being a student here, making new friends, and living on my own. At the same time, I found that expressing myself in the easiest and most fun way was through fashion and how my style was evolving as I started getting used to living in this new place.”

Her then-boyfriend, and now husband, Shiv Sensarma nudged her into documenting her unique experience as a blog and the rest was history. “It’s been an interesting journey!”

Aside from finding herself through fashion, she also realised that she’s a natural born host and Sensarma felt it was the perfect outlet for her love for style and meeting new people.

The London-based inclfuencer was only too happy to part with some of her best-kept party hosting secrets and help us get ready to host our next dinner party in style…

A relaxed host is a successful host

According to Sensarma, if she’s relaxed then she can expect her guests to feel relaxed. “You set the mood for the party. As a host, it’s really important, that you are relaxed and you bring a welcoming energy that would spill over to everything else,” she says.

It’s the little things that matter

Small details that seem trivial can make or break a party. “It’s all about little details that make guests feel really welcome. It could be the guest bathroom that’s fully stocked with everything one might need or if you’ve kept everyone’s dietary requirements in mind.” She also adds that a good playlist for a party is essential.

Prepare everything in advance

The only way to be a relaxed host (see point #1) is to have everything ready beforehand. “If I’m cooking then I usually have everything prepared even before the guests walk in through the door. Or if it’s being catered, then I make sure there are no delays. I like to get my flowers in the morning and make sure the table settings are sorted. That gives me sufficient time to breathe and get ready.”

Your outfit should not be a last-minute thought

Sensarma claims that getting ready for a party is her favourite part. “It is where my love for fashion and home come together. It’s very therapeutic. I put a playlist on, and make sure that I look and feel good. If I feel good then everything is smooth sailing.” She has a few pointers on dressing right for a party. “It’s super important that no matter what your outfit is, you should be comfortable. If you’re not comfortable with what you’re wearing, then you won’t be comfortable in any other aspect. Personally, I like my outfits to have one element of interest, if I’m wearing an all-black outfit, then I would go for something sequinned. Or a statement accessory that could start a conversation.”

Understand that not everything will go according to plan

Disasters are inevitable when it comes to hosting parties, claims Sensarma, and it’s how you deal with them that’s important. She recalls a Diwali party where everything that could go wrong, went wrong. “The restaurant that was suppsoed to cater the party messed up the timing and didn’t deliver it on time. Then three guests backed out last-minute and since it was a sit-down dinner, it threw everything off. On top of that, we were supposed to get a quick home-fixing job done that should have taken an hour but ended up taking four. So I had no time to ensure that everything was in order before the guests arrived.” Thankfully, the disaster taught her an important lesson in hosting, and in life, “I learned that sometimes things beyond your control happen and you just have to learn to roll with it. In the end, we all had a good laugh about it and the party was salvaged. If I’m relaxed, then everyone else is relaxed.”