It's the serving utensils that are the problem. One solution would be to have the food portioned out in a series of small plates. Think dim sum, where people can take the specific food they want. Have the silverware and napkins at the tables in advance.

That's a very interesting way of handling it! Darn I wish I were in Maine, I have like 3 dozen canape plates there.

Actually it just occurred to me, I can make a buffet for each family.

How about some catering type serving utensils and you provide a set for each family - the stuff you can purchase at a party suppy store.

We’ve had a few people over in the back yard. Mostly managed it via take out-everyone provides their order ahead. One time I made chili (masked) and provided individual utensils for toppers. This was with only one guest, so it worked. All cocktails made by me masked and washed. No shared wine or water bottles.

For cutlery and dishes, I washed everything in the DW just prior and then wearing a mask I took the cutlery and immediately rolled it onto freshly washed napkins and made sure everything was tucked right inside. We did use bottled water but I washed the bottles down ahead of time and then brought them out using paper towels.

Mtn, I think your lightbulb moment of each family/table/group having its own food, serving utensils, etc would work.

Did any of you who have done this have concerns with people using the bathroom?

Can’t you simply color code the serving utensils and keep the buffet? I entertained a couple for drinks and tied a ribbon on the tongs. One color for each couple. Of course, I had to remind my DH he was “green”.

We did a neighborhood get together, it was bottled beer and some mason jars of sangria. I actually put out individual bags of snacks, like you’d use for a lunchbox.

We have had a guest come to stay for a week, we knew her history, and she “joined our circle”. I do have a son who goes back and forth to work daily, I think he presents more of a risk than our guest did.

I have a bunch of ladies coming over in a few weeks...maybe 10...to sit outside at a distance...bring your own beverages and snacks and even chairs if they want.

For the bathroom, I have guest paper towels and will put out sanitizing wipes for them to use. And I will have disposable masks at the front door and ask that they mask up before entering the house. That should mitigate the worst risks.

We had a mostly outdoor July birthdays get together last weekend. No worries about social distancing. Maybe 15 people. The deserts and condiments for burgers and chicken were inside. It was a glorious time! This weekend, I had an indoor get together with 2 others in my friend’s home. One of us has been tested every week since she is a PT with a nursing home group.

I continue to wear a mask for others in public spaces, but after Terri’s post, I have decided I either get it, or I don’t, and I shall not fear, because I am too old to put my life on hold. I shall LIVE until I die.

Regarding the bathroom, mostly our events are short enough that the bathroom isn’t necessary. And it’s all neighbors, so we hold it. One friend in our bubble did need to use the restroom and we didn’t stress. One other neighbor does pool floating hour and has a bathroom in her guest house if we have to go.

From what I have been reading, the bathroom concerns are related to poor ventilation which could lead to inhalation or eye contact. I have wondered if Lysol spray kills the virus in the air in a small enclosed space but I haven't found any evidence one way or the other.

If possible, I would keep a bathroom window open and the fan switch taped to the on position.

We finally had our daughter, and her 2 children, spend the afternoon with us at our lake house. We were extremely careful about staying distanced. I had packed a picnic basket for them and one for my husband and I to have on the boat (They sat in the bow, we sat in the stern). While back at the house when someone had to use the bathroom, all others were outside spread around. Paper towels are now kept in the guest bath.

We were so proud how well we were able to be together without being together.

Then they had to leave. Out of habit, or love, we hugged! Five hours of physically distancing forgotten and thrown out the window just that fast! Beware of that love emotion.

Could you hire a masked server and bartender?

maddielee, my daughter and I live about 15 minutes apart and see each other once a week. We hug. She's been my only physical human contact since March. She lives alone, has always worked from home, walks her dog. Otherwise, I'm very careful.

I've been having weekly lunches with 3 friends, rotating in each other's backyards, since March. Brownbagging. It makes hosting very easy. :)

We've had family over throughout this whole time and just been normal. We don't really worry about our family since they are all seeing limited people anyway. And while we are being reasonably cautious (masks and limiting where we go, etc.), we simply refuse to let the baby grow up without seeing his family and who knows how long all this will be going on. Everything has been fine.

These guests are coming from fairly far so I need to feed them a meal and allow bathroom facilities. We have 2 powder rooms and a poolbath all on the first floor, so I will assign each family their own.

I think I like the beribboned serving utensils! And maybe I can set the tables the night before and drape a sheet over them.

Beagles, from my POV, given the low incidence where I am and none of us being high risk, I think 6' distancing is sufficient and surface transmission is a low probability. But these days it seems part of making guests comfortable includes thinking of these things. Odd times.

I've been involved in a couple of "buffets" over the last few months -- each person gets their own serving utensils. It worked. One was just plastic spoons while the other was like all the serving spoons in the kitchen. It's people touching the spoons that make buffets a no-no (that and perhaps at restaurants people coughing and sneezing on the food).

If people were wearing masks when they used the serving spoons, I'd be fine with even a common one. But then I'd want to wash my hands before I sat down to eat. When I was a kid, I was taught to wash my hands before coming to the table to eat. When my Mom would tell us dinner was ready, that was the signal to wash hands first. I used to slack a bit depending how dirty my hands might be, but now I do that again, wash every time religiously. Also wash hands before cooking and dealing with the meat issues which I don't have to much being mostly vegetarian. I wish people cooking food in restaurants would wear masks like they do hairnets, and wash hands more frequently. That was one of the main reasons I didn't eat out even before the pandemic. I had bad flue four times in three years from 2010 to 2013 and it drastically affected my overall immune and stamina health, as well as make me tired and sick for months at a time. I am desperate to not go back to those days, so will be taking any and all reasonable precautions for the forseeable future. However, it's the close contact with nose and mouth and hands, so with washing hands, and distancing, I'd feel quite safe.

I was at the beach this week and used a public restroom and it seemed remarkably safe. Don't ask me why, (and I'm not sure I want to ponder it too much) the restrooms were not crowded at all even though the beach was busy. I was never in the bathroom with more than one person, and there was ample soap and I wore a mask and got in and out with minimal touching of surfaces and lots of sterilizing, so I'd be more concerned as the owner of the house with the bathroom situation, than as a user of it if there was soap. I would switch out some paper towels since we mostly use cloth ones but with guests I would do paper.

The biggest danger is talking in close contact, but you've got that covered. Oh, and my poor hands get so dried out from all the washing!

We had a small family gathering on July 4th. This was in place of the big(30+ people) BBQ we usually do. My children and their significant others, my two brothers and their families and my dh's sister and her husband. 15 people in all(all adults). I asked everyone ahead of time what they would be comfortable with. This is what we did for food.

I had snacks in separate dishes for each family unit. We did do a buffet. I set up a handwashing station outside and everyone washed their hands thoroughly before we ate dinner. I borrowed round tables from our HOA so each family unit had their own table on our patio. I had ample packages of wipes and hand sanitizer available during the day.

In our powder room, I took the cloth towels out and replaced with paper hand towels. Again, clorox wipes and hand sanitizer in the bathroom. I asked each person to wipe down the faucets, light switch, etc after their use.

Just like Maddielee... after being so careful all day, we all hugged when saying goodbye. Can't help it with family.

Two friends brought take out last week, Thai food we shared, eating on the terrace. Serving spoons were the difficult thing to figure out, for serving from the containers, but I just put a bottle of hand sanitizer on the table and we all used it before serving ourselves, so we only touched the spoons with sanitized hands.