No dining table? You can still throw a grown-up dinner party.

Plenty of homes don’t have space for a proper dining table, much less a formal dining room. But such technicalities don’t have to dampen your entertaining spirit.

“The intention of any gathering is to bring people together,” says Mariah McKechnie, owner of Northland Special Events in Duluth, Minn. “It’s not going to be a traditional sit-down meal without a table, but that enables you to get creative and have fun.”