Alicia's Palentines Dine Below the Line

Oh Hey there! My name is Alicia and I’m an intern on the Comms Team for LBL. I believe education should be a right not a privilege and that is why I’m excited to be supporting Oaktree with the work their partners are doing in the Asia Pacific. This will be my first year taking the challenge and slightly terrified but mainly super keen.

I decided to host a DBL to give myself a small taste into the planning that will be required of me to participate in LBL and also thought it would be a fun thing for me to do with my pals.

I’m low key a big believer in celebrating every weird and wonderful holiday there is; including the dreaded Valentines day. (I say dreaded because I find it super annoying that we need one day to celebrate love. We should be loving everyone all the time- and not just our partners!)

Each year I wanted to host a dinner party for all my coupled up and sassy single friends so I thought it’d be a brilliant idea to host a Valentines Day Party for all my Palentines. Hence, why my facebook event was labelled ‘Palentines Day’.

Upon planning my DBL I’m not going to lie- I was slightly super disorganised (this is definitely not out of character for me). Standing in the supermarket at 1pm figuring out how many cans of crushed tomatoes I could get was very stressful.

So Alicia’s suggestion number 1. Figure out how much everything costs BEFORE YOU SHOP. This was definitely a rookie mistake and something most of you guys have probably already thought about doing so great work!

Later on at 3:30pm I was in the middle of preparing a feast for 28 people.. This was 8 more people then had RSVPed at 1pm…..Was it an amazing problem to have? Absolutely. Was it a stressful situation to have. Yes. Yes it was. Thankfully I have some amazing friends who very kindly ran to the shops whilst I stood at the stove mixing two giant pots of soup.

Alicia’s suggestion number 2. Know who’s coming before you start cooking (but at the same time don’t turn down your friends! More friends=more money= more funds *celebrates*)

It then got to around 5:30 and by this point the soup was still simmering away and I had some guys arrive early to lend a hand with some last minute set up- cutting baguettes, putting out table decorations and gathering chairs- these guys were definitely a HUGE help.

My third suggestion for DBL - grab some friends to help with the prep- makes it super fun and takes a little bit of the pressure off!

After all this preparation the night was very relaxed. People came and hung out before we all ate soup and chatted about all things DBL and Pop Culture related. For dessert we had pancakes - which was amazing for multiple reasons. They’re super cheap, super easy to make and everyone can help out! For some final suggestions I’d leave you guys with include:

- Do your preparation!
- Have dessert (people LOVE dessert)
- Talk about DBL during your dinner - you’re hosting because you’re excited about making change. We can make change by starting to talk about it!
- Friends make everything more fun so invite your inner and greater circle of friends.  People get excited by what you’re excited about!

Sending you guys lots of love and all the best with your Dine Below the Line! XO










Previous Post <-----> Next Post       



Want to see a post similar to this one? Check out --> 

Robyn's Creative Dine Below the Line 

Emily does the 2-day Challenege