The Christmas holiday season is a busy time and its probably a time when you could do with a little of the work load being lifted. If you are planning to host a New Year’s Eve party this year, why not make the party a pot luck event. Most people consider potlucks for picnics and parties for other occasions but a potluck is rarely considered when throwing a New Year’s Eve party. However, there are a number of advantages to hosting this type of event. As well as reducing the amount of work required by the host of the party, ensuring the guests all enjoy some of the food provided and cutting down on the amount of leftovers the host has at the end of the evening. It also gets everyone involved and gives them a chance to show off their different ideas and recipes for party food. This article will examine the logistics of hosting a potluck New Year’s Eve party.
A potluck is a good idea for a fun New Year’s Eve party. Some hosts may be hesitant to ask their guests to contribute a dish for the party but there are a few ways to make the potluck a great deal of fun. One way to do this is by implementing a theme for the party. The host can take the responsibility for preparing the main course and then assign each guest to bring another part of the meal to the New Year’s Eve party with the stipulation that the dish they bring should fit with the theme of the party.
While a potluck New Year’s Eve party greatly reduces the responsibility of the host in terms of food preparation, it is important for the host to remember she is still responsible for coordinating the meal. The host should take care of ensuring all of the elements of the meal are provided. This is important for preventing each guest from bringing a dessert and none of the guests bringing savory items such as the main course, side dishes, salads or appetizers. One way the host can do this is to indicate on each guest’s invitation which type of dish they should bring. The guest may assign 2-3 people to bring side dishes and 4-5 people to bring appetizers, 4-5 people to bring side dishes, 4-5 people to bring salads and 2-3 people to bring desserts. This will help to ensure there is a variety of item in each category.
It is also important to consider food service when planning a New Year’s Eve party. This logistical matter is especially important if guests will be providing items which must be served hot. The host might want to consult with the guests to determine what they will be bringing to contribute to the New Year’s Eve party and how the food should be served. If it is necessary to serve the item hot, the host should plan ahead to make accommodations to reheat the item or keep the item hot if the guest arrives with the item still hot. This is important because dinner will not likely be served immediately when guests arrive.
Beverages should also be carefully considered when planning a potluck New Year’s Eve party. One way to deal with beverages is for the host to supply all of the beverages. This is a good solution because alcoholic cocktails are particularly popular for New Year’s Eve parties and the host may prefer to plan on providing a few signature cocktails throughout the evening and will want to ensure they have the ingredients necessary to create those categories. While the host may want to provide all of the alcoholic beverages, she may allow a few guests to bring non alcoholic beverages as their contribution to the pot luck.
Finally, when planning a New Year’s Eve potluck it is important to ensure guests are aware of any dietary restrictions which should be considered when making the food for the party. For example if the host is aware that several guests require special diets such as diets for diabetics or diets for those with high blood pressure she want to make sure guests who will be preparing food for the party are also aware of these restrictions. The host may also want to ensure at least one main dish item is vegetarian in case any of the guests do not eat meat.
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A great idea for future recipes this. Thank you for sharing it. Have you noticed how so many people appear to be cooking again? I wonder if the lack of funds due to the current climate has something to do with it and we all appear to be cooking again! its great!
Neat. Many kudos for this!
Possibly – but for me there is a lot more to it than just money. For me I think commonsense just kicked in. I became so bored with bought food – there is limited variety offered, loss of taste in storage and preparation methods and I wanted better. Besides that my health was showing that I had to improve my food quality or get worse – and again commonsense kicked in! One issue was that I needed to slow down – so I take more time over food. Food is not just for keeping the hunger at bay – it is physical energy and magnificent sight and aromatic sensual pleasure. AND it’s a fantastic bonding experience when you share with others! With the energy crisis, economic downturn, spotlight on personal health it would seem that many people are awakening to what they are missing. And they find they get better for less!! Go for it!!
I also cook for my animals now – their previous commercial food didn’t fill them even though I bought top range (like our junk food I suppose!) and their health and temperaments improved massively almost from day 1 – I’m sure the pet food diet is a big contributor to agro animals. I have Christmas animal recipes and gifts to share in 2010 – there just wasn’t time to get everything up that I wanted for 2009!
There’s no where better to start cooking again then with a celebration and the sharing of foods. Chinese New Year and Valentine’s Day next!
All the best in 2010 to you Deandre!