My husband and I are always on a very tight budget and we love to entertain at our home. The cost of entertaining in your home can be outrageous. In the past we have had at least one party a month, but we were able to do it with minimum costs. With the cost of living going up you too may be on a budget or may be thinking about going on a budget. Even on a budget you can still host parties at your home. You can even have parties that will impress your friends by your organizational skills. You just need to have a plan. I will be sharing what we have always done to save money on our entertaining costs.

One of the best ways to help you not overspend on your parties is to have a potluck. Now I’m sure the first thing that comes to mind is a table full of mix and match salads. But I want you to know you can create a great meal with a potluck dinner it just takes good hosting skills on your part. Your friends will remember your party for a very long time and be happy when you call to invite them over the next event. And because you are saving money you can have them over more often.

To create your own Modern Potluck Dinner you’ll need two things: a list of confirmed guests and a fun menu.

To get your confirmed guest list you will have to call your friends and find out if they are going to come to the party. You can still use invitations or an Evite to invite your friends, but I find people are pretty bad about RSVP’ing these days. You are better off confirming everyone who hasn’t already RSVP’ed. You can let them know when you call them or send out the invite that you will be having a potluck and once you have the guest list you will call them back with what they can bring. We have even done this the night before the party, but the more heads up your guests get the happier they will be.

Once you have your list of attendees you can divide your ingredients between your guests. Now you may be thinking “how rude, I can’t tell my guests what to bring”. You have to get over this mentality this is the mentality that is getting many people into debt. Usually our friends are very  happy to bring something. Plus you had let them know when you called them that it was going to be a potluck. You also have to remember you are providing the location and working out the plans. Also as the host my husband and I usually provided the most expensive items (like the meat) or more work intensive items. Because our friends are providing the rest of the menu it is saving us money.

Here is an example of our favorite potluck menu: Baked Potato Bar. In the example below we will say we have 4 couples joining us for the evening.

Ingredients:

• Potatoes
• Hamburger
• Chicken
• Grated Cheese
• Sour Cream
• Nacho Cheese
• Bacon Bits
• Chives
• Precooked Cauliflower
• Precooked Broccoli
• Salad
• Soda
• Dessert

Host will provide:

• Potatoes
• Hamburger
• Chicken

Couple A will provide:

• Grated Cheese
• Precooked Cauliflower

Couple B will provide:

• Sour Cream
• Chives
• Precooked Broccoli

Couple C will provide:

• Nacho Cheese
• Bacon Bits
• Salad

Couple D will provide:

• Dessert
• Soda

We try and divide the ingredients evenly by cost and if I know something is on special at a store I will let my guests know. Don’t forget your friends may be on a budget, too. If you have someone decide to come at the last minute you can always think of something to add to the menu like appetizers, a veggie tray, or another salad. If you have a friend you know lives on a very tight budget you can always let them know they are welcome even if they can’t bring anything. Also when I’m calling for my RSVP’s I try to ask these friends (I usually know who is having a hard time) if they have a preference on what they can bring. Maybe they have something already in their fridge.

I also highly recommend that you let people know how many guests will be coming so they know how much to bring. I would also figure out how much soda or drinks you think you will need and specify an amount to bring. You will find some people are not good at gauging how much food to bring. If this does happen we just usually slip out to the store and cover it. Just remember this for next time so you can let these guests know exactly how much to bring next time.

I’m sure you will have so much fun at your first party that you will want to keep having people over. You can modify a lot of your favorite meals into potluck menus also. Just write out the ingredients you will need and figure how you can divide them. TO help you out even more here is a list of some of our favorite potluck meals: Build Your Own English Muffin Pizzas, Tacos, Baked Nachos, Salads with Everything, Your Basic BBQ, and Soup Night.

This guest post was written by Pepper, a mom to one, expecting baby number two and wife. You can find her creating web designs at Uniquehorn Designs and chatting up at her blog, Pepper Scraps.