I’ve recently started throwing a monthly dinner party and I invite a diverse group that pulls in people from work and politics and theater and other places I’ve

I’ve recently started throwing a monthly dinner party and I invite a diverse group that pulls in people from work and politics and theater and other places I’ve lived. I’ve found this is a good way to build a stable social group, especially here in New York, where people are so busy the once-a-month structure is useful, the dinner becomes a not too often but still recurring event. Once a month is about the right frequency. I recall that my parents used to have dinner parties all the time, out in the suburbs during the 1970s/1980s and their friends also had dinner parties. There was a culture of dinner parties among adults back then. For some reason it died out. But I think the idea, and the habit, is a useful one.