If you’re planning your Friendsgiving or have a big family pot luck (i.e. bring a plate situation) planned over the holidays, here are our top tips to make sure that you get together is one to remember… for the right reasons smile
Being the entertaining queen does not mean that you have to do everything yourself. Quite the opposite. Queen’s set the plan and delegate to get the job done right!
We’ve got the top 9 things to help you Pot Luck Like a Pro!
Before we start, here is your checklist, here is your sign-up sheet and here is recipe inspo…
So, harness your royal powers of entertaining and let’s get planning!
Pick a theme
Whether you’re the group that goes to town on themed events or not, it’s important for everyone to be on the same page to prevent a potential Bridget Jones moment.
Your theme can be anything from childhood memories, festive feasts or ultimate comfort foods to movie or country themed. The options are endless!
Make sure that your playlist, table setting and any activities match the theme too. And, don’t forget to make sure that EVERYONE gets the memo on if you will be dressing up or not.
It is totally up to you how ‘extra’ you make it. You can go totally low key and set up on blankets for a chilled catch up.
Allocate to peoples strengths
You can have a sign up list where people write up what they are making, so there aren’t any duplicates and there’s a varied selection or, you can delegate a course/ingredient.
Delegation is not just for the food either. Give everyone one additional responsibility to make sure that everyone is involved and it’s not left to one or two people to make the magic happen.
There are playlists to make, decorations and table settings, locations to scout, invitations to send, ice to bring…
Give people something to do that you know that they’re good at and enjoy.
Label, label, label
Keep extra labels on hand to make sure that everything is labelled with what it is and any dietary restrictions. (I am a big fan of colour coding)
The better the label the more people can relax and dig into the goodness without having to find the cook to debrief on the ingredient list.
Check people’s dietary requirements beforehand to make sure that everyone is catered for.
Don’t forget the utensils
Enough said.
Location, location, location
If it is at someone’s house, cool.
If you are venturing off site, check out the area to make sure that there are bathrooms, electricity and BBQs (if you need them) and oh, did I mention make sure that there are bathrooms available?
Clean-up crew
Make as much of your table setting and decorations recyclable as possible. Then all you need to do is buddy everyone up with a bag each, one rubbish and one recycle. Simples!
Leftovers
Have some take away containers on hand for any leftovers. Swap and share your take home packs. You don’t need to stick to what you brought, what’s the fun in that?
Make a mixed take away pack to enjoy tomorrow (or later).
We all know that leftovers are one of the best parts of having a party, right?
Have Fun
Sound crazy to add this to the list but it can be easy to get caught up in making the party so perfect that you forget to relax and have fun!
If things go wrong, NBD.
As long as you’re there with your friends and/or family and you’re all having a good time, that’s what’s important heart
What’s your number 1 tip for an awesome pot luck?