Potluck all the Way, Ho Ho Ho...

by Gisele
(Johannesburg, SA)

My favorite way to throw a wonderful holiday party while saving money at the same time, is to throw a potluck.

I absolutely love potlucks, especially when the party is going to include a diverse group of people, because then you will end up with a wonderful variety of new and exciting foods to try.

It is always a lot of fun to throw specialty themed potlucks for certain holidays. I remember at a former employer, we had a Holiday Potluck in December. I decided to bring my famous pulled pork sandwiches.

Although not very festive, they were hit and cost me very little to make! If everyone contributes a little something, potlucks are very inexpensive for the individual person, and even for those who can’t cook, potluckers are always in need of a plate and napkin!

For my sister’s “Sweet 17” that we threw last month, all of her friends decided to chip in and bring a dish. One of her friend’s parents suggested she throw the party in their backyard. She had friends make her cake, friends bring her delicious side dishes, and we bought about 10 $5 pizzas.

She had a friend that was a DJ and he lent her all his equipment and made her 4-5 play list for $50. So for $100 we threw an awesome birthday party for about 50 people! Just because you may be low on money in this economy, doesn’t mean you have to settle for a boring party.