If you love to host parties in your home, but you don’t have a lot of money to spend on throwing a dinner party for your guests, potluck dinners can be an excellent solution. These are a couple of suggestions for how to arrange your potluck and how to prepare your home for it, so you can make sure that your party goes well and it also as easy on you as possible.
Choosing your type of potluck
The easiest way to host a potluck is to simply invite guests, ask them to bring whatever dish they choose, and then see what sorts of food you end up with on the night of the party. But while this method is easy, it may not be the most successful party, especially if you want to have an actual dinner party. If this is your goal, you can easily arrange things so that you have the right variety of foods. The first thing to do is decide what the main course will be and take care of that yourself.
This will be your main contribution to the potluck, though you should also be the one to provide all the dinnerware, glasses, silverware, and napkins. You can also be in charge of beverages. This means that your guests are tasked with bringing appetizers, side items, and desserts. When you send out invitations, ask each guest to let you know what he or she plans to bring. You can then plan accordingly. You can also set up an online sign-up sheet, specifying the types of foods you need, and ask guests to sign up there. This will ensure that you don’t end up with five desserts, but no appetizers.
Setting up your home for a potluck
If you are having a traditional dinner party, make sure you have enough table space so that everyone can sit down to eat. It is preferable to have everyone sitting at the same table, but if this isn’t possible, you can set up some folding tables in your living room so that all the guests are at least sitting in the same room at tables that are near each other. Be sure to plan ahead for the number of chairs you will need and make sure you have enough space. You don’t want anyone to be left out of the fun by having to sit alone. If this method is too difficult, consider making your potluck more informal and arrange tables along the wall or in the kitchen. Then have guests serve themselves buffet-style and sit wherever seats are available. To prevent guests from having to balance dinner plates on their laps, try to provide tables throughout the room, from coffee tables and end tables to foldout television trays.
Your potluck can be a great success as long as you plan in advance and know which type of setting you would like to have. Whether formal or informal, a potluck is an easy way to throw a dinner party without spending a lot of money and time preparing the entire meal by yourself.
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