Cheap(er) night out with the department

[Hoerwolle]

Got to brag a bit!

Our department (IT) does an inofficial "IT Workshop" about twice a year. Usually I organize it, which means doodling a date, then picking a restaurant and a bar for later and sometimes a special event if possible. Now it's christmas market time, so that's our special event in the cold season.

But since I was recently infected with the MMM bug, I did no longer want to spend so much money, even if it's spend with people I like to be around (and with those of the dep I do not like so much it helps to spend some time and drink together to grease the wheels of everyday office life).

So this time I suggested I would buy stuff (we have a nice kitchen in the company) and cook (on company time) and also get some drinks to go with the dinner - some people tried to sway me into going into a restaurant, but I held my ground and others were quite enthusiastic about it!

Result: Probably saving at least 15€ on the food and probably another 15€ on the drinks, while still spending the same amount of time with the coworkers! And the extra event is free! :-)

[frugal-one]

And..other coworkers who are not as "solid" appreciated it too.  Everyone loves to save money even if they don't admit it.  You are
a rockstar!

[Fireman]

Not only did everyone get to save, but i'll bet the environment was much more conducive to conversation (quieter and not everyone seated at separate tables)!

[Hoerwolle]

Yes, the evening was a great success! I got a lot of compliments for my cooking, we all saved a lot of money and I got some drinks for free as an additional thank you for the cooking :D And yes, sitting together in the company's kitchen was much better than in a crowded restaurant, we even had our own music.

To compare: the food as 2€ per person instead of at least 10-15€, the pre-event drinks were also 2€ per person, the same amount would have cost about 10€ elsewhere, more if you wanted the same quality!

But then I spend quite some money in the irish pub where we ended the evening, but that's OK - all in all I spent half as much as the recent years and it was even better!