Entertaining at home

[frugalone]

I'm thinking of hosting a holiday open house this year. Believe it or not, I'm in my mid 50s and we have never hosted a party in our home. I'm looking for some tips on entertaining. For e.g., what sort of "must have" in terms of dishes and other equipment have you found useful?

Also, we are vegetarians but most people we know are not. Do you think it would be odd if we didn't have meat at our party? My mom makes a very good ham for Easter and other occasions. Would it be odd if someone else made the meat and brought it? We're not opposed to others eating meat, of course. (I've often had friends ask if it's "OK" with me if they eat meat in front of me in restaurants).

Thanks!

[Simplemind]

Were you looking at it as providing all the food or making it more like a potluck? If a potluck then people could bring a dish with meat. If not then if it were me, I would have something with meat for those that eat it just as I would make sure there was something vegetarian if I knew I had guests that didn't eat it. We love doing lots of finger foods and having different stations for drinks, appetizers and desserts. Have a good holiday music playlist.

[frugalone]

Were you looking at it as providing all the food or making it more like a potluck? If a potluck then people could bring a dish with meat. If not then if it were me, I would have something with meat for those that eat it just as I would make sure there was something vegetarian if I knew I had guests that didn't eat it. We love doing lots of finger foods and having different stations for drinks, appetizers and desserts. Have a good holiday music playlist.

I was thinking of providing all or most of the food myself. If, say, my mom or sister offered to bring something, I'd accept their offer. Thanks for your reply!

[Teacher Terry]

Definitely have some meat. I always make sure I have food for my friend who doesn’t eat meat. If I am not having a sit down dinner than I make or buy meat or sandwich, cheese and veggie platters. I also have a big salad and other side dishes plus dessert. We have 4 big parties a year and they are so much fun.

[Gardnr]

I provide the "mains" and non-alcoholic beverages. BYOB saves a lot of hassle. Have others bring desserts and sides. If most of your guests are carnivores, then buy a simple sliced meat/cheese tray.

Have I provided all the food before? Yes. And been stuck with a ton of leftover food. If guests bring stuff, their dish goes away with them.

food for thought!

[Teacher Terry]

We have provided all the food sometimes and other times people bring side dishes. We have beer and wine but often people will bring some too. Lots of ways to have a party.

[Float On]

I used to host an open house event during the holiday season. We'd have 200 people through our house and studio over 6-8 hours. Did a lot of simple trays of food (sweets, cheeses/crackers, dips and breads), drinks, etc. Sometimes people would bring something to add to the mix. I think the only meat item I did was a crockpot of meatballs in that sweet grape/BBQ mix. People were there more to visit and play in the studio and it was a lot of fun.

[Teacher Terry]

200 people yikes!

[frugalone]

I used to host an open house event during the holiday season. We'd have 200 people through our house and studio over 6-8 hours. Did a lot of simple trays of food (sweets, cheeses/crackers, dips and breads), drinks, etc. Sometimes people would bring something to add to the mix. I think the only meat item I did was a crockpot of meatballs in that sweet grape/BBQ mix. People were there more to visit and play in the studio and it was a lot of fun.

What sort of studio do you have? Are you an artist? Sounds like a lot of fun.

[frugalone]

Thanks for the great suggestions! I do like the idea of the meat/cheese tray. Saves the work of baking a ham. BYOB sounds good, too!