A Comparison Study In Dinner Party Preparation

I was the queen of the murder mystery dinner party.  I don't mind admitting it.  Tracking down the perfect murder mystery to play.  Meticulously planning and preparing the menu.  Painstakingly deciding and finding who would attend and what character they would become/emulate.  Completely rearranging the front room to become whatever backdrop would best suit the time and place that each dinner was set during.   I loved every minute of it.  Even the stress and worry associated with trying to pull off the perfect evening was in a way enjoyable.  For months this is what I was passionate about.  I could only pull off about one a month because of how much work went into each dinner, but that once a month was perfect.

In comparison since I have moved out on my own and have not had the ability to pull off another dinner party my brother and his friend decided to pull off a murder mystery dinner of their own.  To help out a little bit I have gone shopping for ingredients with him, lent him my recipes, and helped a little in the rearranging of the front room.  What a difference there is in how my brother and I plan and prepare for dinner parties.  I would have the front room set up and completely ready for guests to attend the party the night before the event.  My brother is still working on getting the front room decorated and the dinner is in half an hour.  I would pull out the fine china to use.  My brother was perfectly content to use the everyday dishes until I pointed out that we didn't have enough to accommodate all his guests.  I would spend hours the day of the dinner doing prep work and cooking the meal.  My brothers preparations in all for the food took about an hour and a half tops.  I would pull out my trusty chefs knifes and jacket and go all out.  My brother just cut up basil using a dull pizza cutter.  It is completely opposite to how I would have gone about doing things, but you know what, it works.  He is going to have as much fun with his friends the way he has done the preparations as I had with my friends when I did the preparations.  When it comes down to it the whole point of the evening is to have fun.  He is going to have fun.  I kind of wish that I could be a fly on the wall to listen to all the excitement and intrigue that will occur.