This past weekend I hosted my first actual dinner party! I have hosted parties before which had food, including a Pizza and Sangria night, but I have never hosted an actual dinner before. I had so much fun planning and preparing for the party (as well as hosting of course!), and it ended up being such a successful night and we all had a lot of fun. I managed to pull it together without spending too much money either, which is always plus!
For the past four years, I spent three of them as a Uni student, and now I am going back to study, so entertaining on a budget is something I have gotten the hang of. For my first Guide to Hosting post I thought I would share some of my tips on how to host a dinner party on a budget.
For the past four years, I spent three of them as a Uni student, and now I am going back to study, so entertaining on a budget is something I have gotten the hang of. For my first Guide to Hosting post I thought I would share some of my tips on how to host a dinner party on a budget.
- Plan your menu around something which you enjoy - not something you think will be the most impressive to your guests // Try not to go over the top with what you serve, because not only could it be tricky, it can also get expensive. Try your favourite pasta dish or make homemade pizzas. As long as it tastes good, your guests will be happy!
- Sign up for the rewards program at your supermarket // I know, this makes me sound like a mum, but I have had a Flybuys card for Coles since I moved out of home. I am not sure about other systems, but with Flybuys you can get a point for every dollar you spend. Once you build up enough points you can redeem them for rewards like appliances and vouchers. I mainly use my points for the "money off your shop" option. For the dinner party on the weekend, I cashed in enough points to get $30 off my total amount. Considering I needed to purchase close to $20 worth of avocados' (insert a 'not being able to afford a house' joke here), having that $30 was great to have.
- Make it a pot-luck and invite your friends to bring along a dish // Something my friends and I like to do is to spread the responsibility of providing dishes and the drinks. With our dinner parties, the host would prepare the main and entree, but almost always someone else will bring the dessert. For my dinner party, I had a friend bring the dessert, and another offered to bring the drinks. It really helped to not only not spend as much, but also to have two parts of the meal taken care of for me so I could focus on the entrees and main.
- Don't be afraid to DIY for your decorations // Ever since I was a child I always loved to DIY, so this one isn't unusual for me. But if you would like to add something a little special or fun to decorate for your dinner party, think about hitting up Pinterest and your local $2 store and make your decorations yourself. Two years ago I made my own tassel garlands using $1 packs of tissue paper and wool I already have, and they were such a hit!
- On a similar note, re-use decorations from past parties // My Dad is someone who doesn't like to throw things out if there is still a chance (no matter how small) of being able to use it again. This has rubbed off on to me, and let me tell you, the man knows what he's doing! I love to decorate anytime I'm hosting, but I don't want to spend the money on new decorations every time. Instead, I keep what I have used in the past, like our foil curtains, and the tassel garlands I mentioned earlier, but in different ways. The tassels have hung across walls one party, and then strung up across the roof another one. Likewise, the foil curtains have been a back-drop for a photo wall and even just a little decoration behind the tv for a movie night. Also, your lights from your Christmas tree? Dig them out and string them up across the room!
Do you have any tips on how to entertain on a budget? I would love to hear them!
Grace.
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