Help with my house warming party?

Question

Hi!
3 weeks ago we moved into our first home! We are so thrilled! In about 2 weeks we are having a " HOUSE WARMING PARTY". I told people in their invite that it is a "potluck dinner" I was just wondering if we need to provied anything? Sodas, wine, etc... Should we BBQ too or should we just depend on our guests to bring everything?

Thanks~
Jennifer

Answer 1

no...i think you should provide the drinks and then some...at the very least, finger foods and at least one main course dish...like spaghetti and bread and a salad and if they're decent folks, they'll bring nice wine for a gift and maybe even a decorative gift for your new loverly home...congradulations

Answer 2

First off, don't plan on much in the way of gifts. Usually it's small stuff, plants, candles, nick-nacks, etc. So plan the party accordingly. Pot luck might be okay if you only invite good friends, but being invited to a "party" and asked to bring anything is really tacky. Most won't care, but the ones who do will be verbal about it behind your back. A simple suggestion: make small food (sandwiches, etc.,) chips, and do Wine Coolers, some soda and iced tea. Have mid-afternoon (2-3pm). Because you ask in Etiquette you must be concerned. So I'd supply the refreshments for my guests entirely. A gift registry is NEVER appropriate for a house warming, (and some say for anything else either!). ADDITIONAL: since some of these people really know absolutely nothing about the gift registry idea and etiquette, I'd suggest you go to the library and get a book on etiquette to prove that registering is not appropriate.

Answer 3

Typically, we host a party every Memorial Day. Everyone brings a side dish and we, as hosts, provide the meat and beverages. You may want to barbecue some hot dogs, hamburgers and some Italian sausage. If someone is stuck on what to bring, you could ask them to bring the rolls you need. Tell them you're having soda and if they wish for something else, to bring it along. Another tip is to find out what people are bringing, so you can prevent an avalanche of one particular thing. If you know someone is bringing a potato salad and the next person you talk to tells you they're thinking of bringing a potato salad, you can say we have that covered could you bring a macaroni salad instead? Good luck with the party and congratulations on your new house, it's so exciting!

Answer 4

Potluck generally means that each guest brings "something" to share. And, your "guests" are also depending on you to provide some of the basics as well. In addition to plates, napkins, silverware, etc., you'll probably need to have a supply of drinks, both alcoholic and non, on hand. When I have a potluck, I generally make one dish from every course just in case a guest shows up empty handed!

Answer 5

Congrats on your new place!
I would make sure you have plenty of beverages and ice...usually people will bring a dish, but a few may bring some wine or beer.
It would be good to get an idea what people are bringing - sometimes it's better to say "you bring a salad" and "you bring some sort of appetizer"...that way you don't end up with 5 green bean casseroles! lol!
Usually the main course is provided by the host, but that is up to you..the bbq would be nice, keeps people moving and is usually more comfortable for everyone.

Answer 6

I wouldnt depend on the guest for everything. I think you shoul provide beverages and BBQ some hot dogs and burgers atleast. Most people will bring salads and stuff like that to a Potluck I think.

Answer 7

lol don't depend on your guests for everything you are expected to do the majority. Most people at a pot luck will bring salads not usually the meat. If you wanted to do it cheap do hot dogs and hamburger or just do bbq chicken in a few different flavors. I think you will almost have to count on providing soda also. With pot lucks from experience I know you really have to speciffy with people what you want then to bring.

Answer 8

All you should provide are decorations and accessories.

When hosting a potluck, there is still a lot of prep work needed: invitations, decorations, games and activities...that's all a lot easier when everyone coming is bringing a dish. However, you don't want eight dishes of fruit salad so be creative in the invitation.

Here are a few suggestions:

Have conditions like no Jell-O.
*With a smaller party assign the dish or type of dish for them to bring.
*Ask guests to bring their food ready to serve in the serving container, suggest a disposable container.
*Have extra serving utensils.
*Have a bunch of plastic take home containers available so you don't have tons of leftover food to deal with and your guests will be happy to take food home.
*Ask guests to RSVP with their dish so you don't have overlap and you can coordinate better and assign missing dishes. This will allow you to have the appropriate service ware available.
*Let guests know if they need help coming up with a dish that you'd be happy to help them decide .

Themes:

Finger foods/appetizer.
The dish they bring must begin with the same letter as their name. Ex: Anna would bring Antipasto Salad. This is only good when you have creative people coming.
International theme, everyone brings a dish from his or her heritage--Joe is Italian so he brings the lasagna.
State celebration; bring a dish that is local to your state
Nationwide theme; assign each person a state (or to pick from a few) and they bring a regional specialty (i.e. Louisiana jambalaya, Mississippi mud pie, New York pizza, Texan chili)

Congratulations on your new home, have lots of fun at your party.

Answer 9

If you rely on your guests, be sure to tell them to bring their favorite dishes. Sometimes it's more economical that way also.

I remember my house warming. There were about 60 people and so I bought deluxe large pizzas, made wonderful salad, had plenty to drink like Coke, punch, lemonade and then when my guests came they brought all sorts of fruit salads, guacamole and chips, cakes, casseroles, baked beans, chili, soups, everything! No one went away hungry and my neighbors found themselves helping to direct parking traffic.

It was such an exciting time and I'm sure you'll figure everything out. Also, go to http://www.ask.com and do a search there. The food network website is also a good tool for eats and garden parties and such: http://www.foodtv.com.

I hope it all works out for you. I did not serve any alcoholic beverages because I was not sure whomever came over had a drinking problem past or present. It turned out wonderfully without a hitch! I'm sure yours will too. Congratulations to you and your husband!

Answer 10

Since you are hosting the party, you definitely need to provide something substantial. What if people don't bring much? At a minimum you should provide some grilled chicken, hot dogs or hamburgers and let them bring sides. You also need to provide sodas. I would tell them it is BYOB (Bring your own booze) It doesn't hurt to buy a couple of 1.5L bottles of vino, but I would leave it up to the guests mostly to provide their own.

Answer 11

You should provide drinks, paper goods, and yes, bbq'ing a meat of sometype that could be a main entree to the food everyone else brings would be good. Otherwise you're going to get a bunch of potato salads and chips and dip. You should provide the hearty centerpiece for the meal.