Tips to organise a potluck in your apartment

This season, enjoy a spread of delicious meals midst an entertaining gathering of your friends. You can do this by hosting a potluck in your apartment. They are the economical ways of enjoying a feast but perhaps, can create chaos if not organised properly.

What is a potluck?

Potluck or potluck party has its origin since time immemorial from England. It literally means, ‘food provided for an unexpected or uninvited guest, the luck of the pot’. It is similar to a communal meal wherein the guests bring their own food. A potluck meal doesn’t necessarily have a menu; however, each person participating brought a dish along for everyone. They are an ideal form of entertainment for the contemporary host or hostess who is quite busy with his/her work and life.

Perhaps, most of the people fret hosting a potluck party as they think it requires a lot of effort and dedication. However, one does not know that organising a potluck is one of the best ways to have a memorable get together as well as enjoy a delicious spread. Here are some ideas on how one can host an incredible potluck meal in the apartment.

Potluck party organisation:

The term potluck itself denotes an assortment of dishes, however, it can be made even more interesting if the host takes a little pain in organising the party well. It is always better to assign your guests a dish each to avoid the risk of multiple guests getting the same dish. Ensure that you ask your guests about the category of food they will be getting along and ensure that the cooked food is efficiently used rather than being treated as leftovers.

Get yourself geared:

While you prepare yourself to welcome your guests, you should also ensure that you grab and accumulate all the required utensils and extra platters, baskets, utensils and others before the guests arrive. Doing this will help you spend time with your guests rather than distracting them.

Assign tasks:

It is always better that you appoint people to serve the food and beverages. Doing this will keep your home from being messy; also this will help you know the amount of food which should be served to each of your guest. You can ask your guests to get their own drinks in case they prefer something different.

Appropriate location:

It is always better that you confirm the number of guests who will be coming for the potluck. The location of the potluck can be chosen based on the number of guests. Choose a location which is spacious enough and can be easily cleaned after the party. Also the host should ensure that he/she provides the dinnerware and few of the main dishes like water, soft drinks and so on. Since an apartment has various places like a penthouse, a balcony, a lawn, a garden and other open spaces, the potluck can be organised in these areas. An outdoor potluck will also be a good option.

Culinary suggestion:

Before the potluck is organised it is advisable that the guests are precisely instructed. The food should be prepared in advance and the not much of cooking should be involved at the time of potluck other than just re-heating. In case the food is insufficient for the large number of guests, it is good that they take a small helping.

Menu ideas:

Having a menu in the potluck will be one of the best, organised potluck parties. Dishes like casseroles, salads, puddings, jellies, sweetmeats, fryums, roasted meat, brownies, grilled/fried chicken, pizzas, pasta, muffins, cookies, noodles, cakes and others can be made.

Soothing music:

To add charm to your potluck, you need to have the right kind of music for the after food hours. This will make your guests cheerful as well as will give them an opportunity to show their dancing skills in case they would like to perform.

A review hour:

This will perhaps be an interesting hour wherein each guest can tell something special about other dishes. They can rate their food and also share the recipes if needed.

Well, these are some knick knacks which can come in handy. We hope you have a memorable potluck spread with your loved ones.

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