Knowing which fork to use is not all we need to know when it comes to dining etiquette, there are more rules involved. They are not meant to make you stressed; on the contrary they are there to make everyone more comfortable. Even when you are playing host, there are certain actions expected from the host, and the guests might be waiting for your actions and will follow your lead.
From experience we know that having the knowledge of dining etiquette will make you more confident and at ease in social occasions. That’s what we all want, don’t we?
First of all we will start with what you should do as a host.

Planning and Preparations: while planning your menu it is important to select dishes that will not need long last minute touches, so that you don’t have to spend a lot of time in the kitchen away from your guests, even if your spouse is available, especially if you have a lot of people invited, there’s hardly enough time to play host with each one of them.

Guest Arrival: It is important that you and/or your spouse greet your guests at the door to welcome them in. If for some reason you were unable to greet a guest at the door, make sure that the first thing you do when you go into the room is finding your guest and welcoming them.
Don’t forget to introduce your guests to each other.

Accepting Gifts: Your guests might bring a gift with them, be prepared to accept it gratefully. If you can the gift during the dinner like a desert, go ahead do that. Make sure to thank them again while presenting the gift in front of the other guests.

Seating Guests: Usually guests will wait for a sign from you to where they should sit, so it is a good idea to have the seating planned in advance, usually couple are separated at the dinner table. Make sure you don’t sit people who don’t get along well together next to each other. This will keep the conversations flowing and your party alive.
 

Late Guests:  Usually dinner is served after half an hour to an hour from arrival time, don’t wait more that fifteen to twenty minutes for a late guest, you have a duty to your other guest who arrived on time and are waiting for the meal.
It is ok if your late guest arrives during dinner, just welcome them in to the table and have them join the meal course you are all having. No need to bring in any plates they missed.

What you should do as a guest.
Punctuation: You’ve probably received the invitation at least a day in advance, so you have time to plan your day and make it on time as your host specified. It is rude to keep other people waiting for you, especially if you are a first time guest.
For work related parties or lunch/dinner interviews, plan your schedule to arrive even earlier. You won’t get the job if you are late from day one.
Bringing a present: It is considered very polite to arrive with a gift in hand, especially if you are invited to your host’s home for the first time. The common gifts people bring are flowers, chocolate, cakes or deserts, and wine – but make sure that your host drinks alcohol as it is considered rude otherwise.

Before the meal: Once you are inside the house and introduced to the other guests, be a warm person Mingle! Even if your host forgets to introduce you, take charge introduce yourself.
Once the meal is ready your host will invite you to sit at the table, if you are not assigned a seat, don’t panic or act awkward just find a seat and sit.
 

Offer Help: Be gracious and offer your host to help but don’t push too hard, if your host insists.

Make sure you read our Table Manner articles for more tips on Table Manners.