You need to plan well and keep on top of everything throughout the night, but in theory it is possible to throw a successful dinner party in your caravan.

The first thing to consider is the amount of people you are invinting. Obviously you don’t have enough room to throw a Jacobean banquet so take into account how many people you can comfortably sit around your table and don’t exceed that number.

Or, if you do want to invite a few more people, why not get hold of a nice outdoor table and have a lovely dinner party outside your caravan. Now, you have to remember that the weather will be a huge factor if you are eating outside so I would advise you to only arrange an outdoors party in the hotter months of the year.

Now you need to think about what to cook. Most caravans these days have a lot more options in terms of cooking apparatus than caravans of old, so you won’t be too restricted. Large one pot dishes are recommended. Curries and pasta dishes are a great idea as long as you do the preparation in advance otherwise things could get a bit untidy. You need to keep the washing up in mind too.

What’s that? You are having a three course meal? Well that is brave, ok; well you need to make sure that you wash up between courses, because there is only so much work surface space in a caravan. I mean, how are you going to prepare desert when the plates from the main course are scattered everywhere? Also, it isn’t that nice easting dinner whilst staring at a high tower of wobbling and dirty crockery.

You should also ensure that your caravan is nicely lit. Mood lighting is all the more popular in caravans these days, so make sure you have it set to ‘ambient’ and that will most definitely set the tone for the evening.

And last of all, if you are going to have a good time make sure you have the most important two things correct. Good music and lots of booze. All dinner parties that have these two essentials, go down well. I like to start off with a bit of Van Morrison and then move onto something a bit more rock and roll. In terms of alcohol, it doesn’t matter what you bring to the table, just make sure you have lots of it… Drink responsibly.