How to Recession-Proof Your Home Entertaining

OK - here I am in Australia (cos I live here!) Here's what happens... We decide to set up this huge binge and invite our friends. Typically, they say "great, what can we bring?" It's just how we do things over here.

Usually we say "oh, nothing. Just some booze - whatever you want to bring" We are terrified that if we actually give them something to do or bring, that will somehow be bad. And so, that's what we do.

Quite a few years ago, my wife and I belonged to a small, close-knit group of friends. We called ourselves "The Gourmet Club" (not very original). Every 3 months, we'd gather at the home of one of the members for a magnificent dinner. The host couple would prepare the main course, and get to invite a "mystery couple", and the others would be given strict instructions as to what to prepare for the various other courses. Everyone brought the appropriate alcohol to accompany their course. It worked like an absolute treat, because if one couple tried to do the whole thing by themselves, they could end up:

• Broke
• Exhausted

The way we did it - everyone sharing work/cost - made for a wonderful event. I and my wife LOVE big lunches with great friends. The more the merrier. We love good company and aren't afraid to experiment with new foods.

Problem is, my wife is a semi-invalid (arthritis) and FIERCELY proud. Hmmm. Bad combo! When we DO entertain to any degree, she ends up shattered, and so the end result is that we don't entertain as much as we would like. And let's face it, catering for 20 isn't exactly cheap. Now, I'm a big conceited show-off, and love producing vast cuts of slow-cooked meat out of my Weber Smoker. People seem to love it, so I'm happy! I'll do the "big" stuff SO - what's the solution?

Well, here's mine... Expand the whole "Gourmet Club" gig.

Give people instructions as to what to bring. When did YOU ever feel insulted when a host actually asked you to bring something? Never, that's right! Charge people some sort of nominal amount per head. That way, you can put on a fabulous banquet, without stressing out. For me and our particular situation? Well - I've done some local research and found a party hire company who will take back "dirty" plates, glasses, cutlery etc, for a measly 5c extra per "thing" to do the washing up! How good is that? Instant removal of the washing up stress for my princess. (And yes I KNOW, friends will offer to wash up. But ladies - it doesn't work, does it....?)

So, from here on in, I'm going to be a bit more prescriptive with asking people to bring something for the meal. I'm going to ask them for, say, 10 bucks a head, to contribute to costs.

Flip it round the other way....

Once you know the ground rules, are there ANY of you who wouldn't bring something, and contribute towards the costs, when a close friend asks you to lunch/dinner? Not at all! Once you've got past the initial (stupid) "oh you can't ask people THAT", you'll have a ball and beat this recession that some people insist that we're having.

The result? MORE great events and LESS/NO stress for the host and hostess. Where's the downside, pray tell?

Enjoy!

PS - I'm experimenting with all sorts of ways to grow organic veggies. There will be WAY more than we two can possibly eat, so I'll be inviting guests to help themselves to whatever they want. Win/win all round!

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Philip_A_Langley