Frugal Hosts with the Most!

[HaloAurelio]

Thought it would be fun to have a thread for those of us who love social gatherings, to share and compile ideas for hosting awesome events without breaking the bank!

[HaloAurelio]

I'll start!

My friends and I have started having outdoor freecycling parties. We clear out our closets and shelves, bring all the stuff together into a backyard, and swap! Not to mention of course that there are simple snacks and lots of time to chat. Everyone ends up with a lot of free new stuff and gets rid of things they don't want!

[lazycow]

Fab idea for a thread!
My Women's group is doing that very thing for our next meeting!!
I have also started hosting a monthly board games night. I usually make a cake and serve tea or coffee, and everyone brings extra snacks and drinks. It is enormous fun.

[parkerk]

Love this.  When I have a lot of people over for a meal I tend to make a big pot of something + bread (eg chili and cornbread, stew and biscuits, etc.) Filling and homey and cheap, and people always seem to be impressed with fresh-baked anything.

[PoutineLover]

We love hosting and always put on a great party for not too expensive. Generally if it's for a holiday we will make a meat main and some sides or desserts, and ask people to bring appetizers/salads/desserts/drinks. Making homemade bread is always a hit and we usually make our own beer, wine, or liquor. In the summer it's usually a barbeque.
I find decorations wasteful so we don't put anything up unless it's durable. We always use real dishes and cutlery and cloth napkins so there isn't much waste.

[HaloAurelio]

I have also started hosting a monthly board games night. I usually make a cake and serve tea or coffee, and everyone brings extra snacks and drinks. It is enormous fun.

Big fan of boardgames, and I'm real into the idea of a paired cake!

Love this.  When I have a lot of people over for a meal I tend to make a big pot of something + bread (eg chili and cornbread, stew and biscuits, etc.) Filling and homey and cheap, and people always seem to be impressed with fresh-baked anything.

MMM, yeah! Maybe I'll start a section in the first post about food recommendations.

[HaloAurelio]

We love hosting and always put on a great party for not too expensive. Generally if it's for a holiday we will make a meat main and some sides or desserts, and ask people to bring appetizers/salads/desserts/drinks. Making homemade bread is always a hit and we usually make our own beer, wine, or liquor. In the summer it's usually a barbeque.
I find decorations wasteful so we don't put anything up unless it's durable. We always use real dishes and cutlery and cloth napkins so there isn't much waste.

@PoutineLover I feel you on the real plates and cutlery – I always feel it looks extra classy, too!

Making beer I've heard of, but how do you make your own wine and liquor? Any winning recipes to share?

[PoutineLover]

We love hosting and always put on a great party for not too expensive. Generally if it's for a holiday we will make a meat main and some sides or desserts, and ask people to bring appetizers/salads/desserts/drinks. Making homemade bread is always a hit and we usually make our own beer, wine, or liquor. In the summer it's usually a barbeque.
I find decorations wasteful so we don't put anything up unless it's durable. We always use real dishes and cutlery and cloth napkins so there isn't much waste.

@PoutineLover I feel you on the real plates and cutlery – I always feel it looks extra classy, too!

Making beer I've heard of, but how do you make your own wine and liquor? Any winning recipes to share?

For the wine we got a kit, it comes with a couple fermentation vessels and the starter juice and chemicals, and it actually turned out pretty good. You could probably find all the supplies at a local wine hobby store.
The liquor we make is called krupnikas, it's a spiced honey liqueur from Lithuania, absolutely delicious. There are many variations but we really like this one: http://globaltableadventure.com/recipe/lithuanian-honey-spirits-krupnikas/
Since covid it's been hard to get the really high proof liquor, since apparently they've been using it for hand sanitizer, but we managed to find some 152 proof so we'll probably start a new batch soon. It also ages really well, the flavours meld together. You should give it a shot! It's especially good on a cold winter night.

[HaloAurelio]

For the wine we got a kit, it comes with a couple fermentation vessels and the starter juice and chemicals, and it actually turned out pretty good. You could probably find all the supplies at a local wine hobby store.
The liquor we make is called krupnikas, it's a spiced honey liqueur from Lithuania, absolutely delicious. There are many variations but we really like this one: http://globaltableadventure.com/recipe/lithuanian-honey-spirits-krupnikas/
Since covid it's been hard to get the really high proof liquor, since apparently they've been using it for hand sanitizer, but we managed to find some 152 proof so we'll probably start a new batch soon. It also ages really well, the flavours meld together. You should give it a shot! It's especially good on a cold winter night.

Awesome info!!!!

[K_in_the_kitchen]

I don't think I can count the number of teen gatherings we "hosted" where we served popcorn (popped in oil but not buttered), homemade brownies (made with cocoa powder, not chocolate), and iced tea.  Really our kids were hosting, but I would make the snacks.  The other kids were welcome to bring soda if they wanted to, and some did, but often they went back home with what they brought.  My kids were usually having friends over to play board games or D&D, which was a lot less expensive than going to the movies or hanging out at the mall.

Indeed, in 3+ decades of being an adult, we have almost exclusively served water, iced tea, and/or lemonade at gatherings.  And I mean water in an Igloo jug, not bottled. Now thanks to a thrifted soda making machine we can offer fancy sparkling water as well, if it's just a few people.  We also rarely serve alcohol -- most of our family members and friends don't drink it and we don't drink it regularly either.

Our typical dinner served to guests is soup + salad + bread, with everything being homemade (including the dressing for the salad).  If it's a big crowd we'll do "haystacks" which is basically Chipotle style burrito bowls with chips.  I'll make pinto beans, black beans, and rice, and then we have fajita veggies, lettuce, cheese, guacamole (if avocados are free or cheap), sour cream, salsa, etc.  We just serve it as a vegetarian meal since we have a lot of vegetarian friends anyway.

I just don't like things really fussy or expensive, in part because I'm against the idea of "entertaining".  I just like to gather with people I love and enjoy their company, and I don't need to impress them.

[PMG]

Some of our biggest hits with guests have been middle eastern inspired dishes. Katchaphuri is a dramatic looking Georgian bread and egg dish. Shakshuka is a tomato, chickpea and egg dish claimed by several countries and cultures including Israel and Egypt. Not sure our renditions are very authentic but the flavors are outside our usual cooking and both dishes impressed guests just by virtue of being different but using familiar ingredients. Those are both a little hard to make ahead so I wouldn’t recommend for a large gathering!  But they still get brought up in conversation so I had to share them.

[reeshau]

We have now gotten into a groove with smoked pork tenderloin.  We got a knockout recipe which uses a "secret" spice blend (my hometown is a big pork producing area; their local organization has it custom blended) fresh thyme, brined in Simply Apple juice.

4 tenderloins, about 6 pounds and one smoker-full, is $18 and feeds an army.  Cut into medallions, it works on appetizer plates as well as lined up in a row for dinner.  And there are always enough leftovers for the next day, or to freeze 1 or 2, because after prepping for a party, you want something easy!

We get whatever veg is in season, and fresh fruit for dessert.

If there are kids, we love doing grilled make-your-own pizzas.  Kids love some agency in their life, and having them focus on the meal gives them some (relatively) quiet time between exertions.  I use indirect heat to melt the cheese, and very minimum direct heat to toast the crust.  Amazing!

[MrsCoolCat]

I'll start!

My friends and I have started having outdoor freecycling parties. We clear out our closets and shelves, bring all the stuff together into a backyard, and swap! Not to mention of course that there are simple snacks and lots of time to chat. Everyone ends up with a lot of free new stuff and gets rid of things they don't want!

Great idea! Snack wise I love Costco. I've bought so many huge snacks for under $5 a bag. Actual food there are lots of resources for ideas online but I would probably just research with whatever haul of ingredients you budget for that week that are on sale. Like my husband started grilling again and we do whatever meat is on sale at Publix for that weekend. Granted we just started this and we don't invite too many ppl over, but I've seen some cool ideas with quick sliders, make ahead meatballs in a Crock pot, just search on TikTok, IG or Pinterest!

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[PMG]

This is not a fabulous tip or anything, but we had guests this weekend to meet our new baby. We set expectations ahead of time that we’d be chaotic and ordering take out. But I still wanted to have something at the house to offer. I thought I’d pick up a ready made fruit tray but they cost a mind blowing $25 for just a couple cups of different melons and some strawberries.  I couldn’t bring myself to pay that but I still needed easy, so I just got strawberries, grapes, and a cored pineapple.  That cored pineapple is what I’m here to write about.  Pre sliced pineapple was $9 a pound.  Ouch. But the just cleaned and cored pineapple was $3.49 each. A whole pineapple was $3.49 each. It was a no brainer and doable prep while juggling a baby. I’ll need to remember that option for the future.

[Trudie]

I’m enjoying this thread. Ditto to the comment that it’s about enjoying being together with people — not entertaining to impress. I live in a condo complex, and we’re constantly having impromptu get togethers. Casual is best.