snowy

Lifehacker linked this article on thekitchn, and I found it was full of tips I already use, but I thought I'd share it with everyone here, and see if anyone had tips to add:

from: 5 Ways To Throw a Party Without Blowing Your Budget | Apartment Therapy The Kitchn

Asking people to bring their own protein is something we do a lot for parties where we grill. My husband is a vegetarian, and so most of our friends understand that we're not going to buy burgers or steaks. Usually, we will provide something vegetarian that we've grilled, like a portobello mushroom stuffed with goat cheese, a veggie skewer, marinated tofu steaks, or grilled tempeh, but we invite our friends to bring meat if meat is what they want, with the understanding that they'll get a crack at the grill after the vegetarian items have been cooked. Even if we're not grilling, it is understood by our friends that if they come to our house to eat at a dinner party, it's likely going to be vegetarian.

We also aren't so far away from college that we avoid asking friends to bring alcohol. Since my husband homebrews, we typically say that we'll provide all of the beer and the mixers if guests bring liquor.

Generally, when I put together an invitation for an event, I urge people to bring items if they're considering it (semi-potluck), and most of my good friends know to tell me they're bringing something, or ask me if I have something I need. It's not unusual for me to get three phone calls (ZombieSquirrel, our friend L. and my friend W.) right before a party asking me if I need anything else. At Halloween, I made different dips for tortilla chips, and someone else brought the chips. It worked out very well.

What are your party-on-the-cheap tips?

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eribrav

I know you've mentioned elsewhere that you like making pizza.
A nice salad, with a couple of large home made pizzas seems to go over well here.
Most of our guests don't get home made pizza often (if ever) and the ingredients are not too expensive.
If they bring the beer the tab is really low.

snowy

Yeah, that's what we did for New Years--I did a double batch of pizza dough, made two of the 12" crusts into pizza, and made the other two into flatbreads. Flatbread is super cheap to do--I brushed it with some olive oil, threw on some garlic, arranged some thinly sliced red pepper on top, and then sprinkled some parmesan cheese on when it came out of the oven. I wanted to do a rosemary one but my rosemary was looking kind of sad at that time of year

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Charlatan

We have done potluck dinners where people bring food. They work well but I am not a big fan because you end up with a bunch of food that doesn't always go together.

We have also done progressive dinners, where you move to different people's houses for the different courses. Usually these are done on a theme (i.e. Mexican).

My favourite was a make your own pizza night. We turned out a huge whack of dough and people were assigned to bring different ingredients. Everyone makes their own pizza and bakes it off. It was a lot of fun.

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snowy

I agree on the potluck. I'm kind of a control freak when it comes to food.

As for the make-your-own pizza, that's something we want to try this summer out on the grill

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dlish

if you dont want to double up on foods or if you want foods to gel well together, why not make a list and make people pick what they want to make for the party. It kind of borrows the same ideas as a bridal gift list. lets admit it..no one wants 7 kitchen toasters. I bet you dont want 7 apple pies.

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telekinetic

BYOB and BYOBBQables has always been the secret to cheap parties for me.

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Grasshopper Green

My step sister throws parties every couple of months, and they are always potluck, but they also always have a theme of sorts. It's easier to bring food if everyone knows the party theme is Chinese New Year (her last party), or a Mexican fiesta, or whatnot.

I don't entertain, so I don't have any original ideas. If we're attending a party and there are no prior food requests, we just bring beer, a bottle of wine, or booze and fixings to make cocktails with (my hubby is frequently requested to play bartender). This seems to go over well.

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Charlatan

The best potlucks we've thrown or been involved with have had lists and have assigned courses to people. It really does help to avoid getting four of the same dishes. My problem stems from the fact that the food still doesn't always go together. It's not the end of the world... for me, the whole point of a dinner party is to spend time with my friends.

But like Snowy, I am a bit anal when it comes to preparing a meal. I am happier when I just let it go.

__________________
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spindles

you lost me at 'apple pie' - mmmmm, pie.

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