Holidays

Christmas dinner is a tradition in many countries. Families and friends get together to share a meal and have some fun. This year, with these tightwad times, if you are hosting the Christmas dinner try a new approach to the meal. Turn it into a frugal potluck Christmas dinner.

Potluck is an old term dating back a few centuries. It is a meal brought to a gathering to be shared with others. This is exactly what you will be doing with a Christmas tightwad potluck dinner. In centuries past, potluck meals used whatever was available, but here we want a bit fancier fare for our dinner menu.

First, the guests can come together to decide what type of frugal dinner menu you are looking to serve. Don’t worry if schedules are too tight for a family meeting. Use email, text messaging, and good old Ma Bell to straighten out the Christmas dinner menu.

Setting a tightwad potluck dinner menu in advance avoids everyone bringing a dessert and no side dishes for the Christmas dinner meal. A true potluck would involve everyone bringing something of their choice, but for variety’s sake, make a list first. As each household chimes in on what they will bring, add it to a list and send it out. We want to avoid duplicates if we can.

The main course of turkey or ham or what have you can be cooked at the host home. It proves easier to have the turkey already on site as opposed to transporting him all around town. Another family member can purchase the turkey and come over to cook it at the host home for the Christmas dinner.

You’ll need a place to set up the Christmas dinner choices. Most frugal potluck meals are served buffet style so everyone gets exactly what they want to eat. Depending on the number of Christmas dinner guests, you may need a table or two set up for the holiday menu items.

Place cards next to each dish explaining what it is. Most will be self explanatory but the place cards do help for kids and non-traditional meals. Label the desserts as well.

The dining room table can be set as usual for a potluck Christmas dinner. After the blessing, everyone can form a line to get their food. Ask the dish maker to bring their own utensils for serving so you don’t have to use all of yours. Afterwards, everyone takes their own dish home to wash.

A tightwad and frugal potluck Christmas dinner saves time and money. Each dinner guest is responsible for a portion of the meal so no one has to do all of the preparation.

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