My dining table seats six. I have eight friends I want at the same dinner. For two years I either left two people out or borrowed extra chairs from the neighbor and crammed everyone in. Last June I gave up and moved everything to the coffee table. It's been the only way I host since.
Cushions on the floor, a coffee table in the middle, candles, music. People settle in faster. They stay later. Standing up takes effort, so they don't. The food can be the same food you would have made at a real table. The table just doesn't care.
What you need (and where I got it)
The coffee table. Whatever you have. Mine is a $89 IKEA Lack I've had since 2018. It's not pretty up close. Lit by candle from above, it's fine.
A rug big enough for everyone to sit on. A 5x7 cotton rug from Target, $79 on sale. Wool would be nicer but cotton washes.
Six to eight floor cushions. I have four big square ones from H&M Home ($35 each, on sale for $20 in the winter) and four meditation pillows from Amazon ($22 each). The textures don't match. That's the point.
Two throw blankets. Folded at the edges in case it gets cool. The wool ones from Target ($29 each).
Candles, not overhead lights. Three pillars on the table, two tapers in brass holders, a couple of tealights wherever. Overhead light kills the spell. Don't use it.
Short glasses. No stems. Stems on the floor end the way you'd think. The IKEA Pokal tumblers are $1.49 each.
The menu
Anything that doesn't need a knife. A grazing board with three cheeses ($24), a small jar of fig jam ($6), olives ($5), marcona almonds ($8), and a loaf of seeded bread ($5). A pot of something warm in the middle — a winter stew, a brothy bean dish, a pasta with brown butter and sage. Cloth napkins big enough to spread on a lap.
Total food cost for eight: about $80, including the warm pot. About what I'd spend on a sit-down dinner anyway.
People settle faster on the floor. I don't know why. They just do.
The drink
One cocktail in a carafe so nobody's bartending. A spritz with rosemary and a slice of grapefruit. Or a negroni stirred with ice in a pitcher, poured over one cube. Make a non-alcoholic version in another carafe — sparkling water with cucumber, mint, and a splash of elderflower cordial ($8 at Trader Joe's, lasts six gatherings).
The hour
Tell people 7. Mean 7:30. Light the candles at 6:45 and put the music on. The first guest sits on a cushion before they take off their coat. You'll know.