How To Host An Awesome At-home Thanksgiving Potluck Party

November 10, 2017 November 10, 2017

For hundreds of years, our ancestors would prepare for the fall season with all the seriousness and graveness, bearing in mind the hardships and harshness of long winter. They would gather and preserve their harvests and feed their turkeys - the preparations would take months! Nowadays modern homemakers all over America manage to cope with all the workload within a fortnight.

Some hosts are taking it too personally and do everything on their own, while some of us prefer to turn back to the good old tradition of cooperation for survival. Potluck parties can be the answer!

A Thanksgiving potluck party may sound like yet another challenge where you have to exercise all your management and logistic talents, but one can’t have it all. This is why we came up with this useful guide on how to organize an awesome Thanksgiving potluck party with ideas on a perfectly festive menu and little helpful hacks on not just surviving but enjoying the evening.

1. PARTY PLANNING IS KEY

Every talented CEO started his thriving business with thorough planning. Your potluck party is no different. Start as early as possible, don’t procrastinate too much on this part. The earlier you start the less chance there is that you will be freaking out in a burning chaos of deadlines are.

The first thing on the agenda is the party guest list. If you get your full headcount right then it will be easier to plan the setting, seating arrangements, the number of cutlery pieces and the amount of food required. And yes, the turkey. It has to be the right size for your potluck party.

It’s better to follow the +1 rule when planning food for the number of guests attending. Worst case scenario: you run out of supplies during the potluck party itself (can you imagine the day after a Thanksgiving party without leftovers? Neither can we).

You can optimize the count-up if you send a sign-up sheet around before the party. Customize it with turkeys and pilgrims and you will turn a mundane headcount into a playful challenge. Share it online and ask everyone to fill it in (or print it out for Grandma Edna and Grandpa Steve).

2. DON’T BE TOO BOSSY!

A sign of a talented management is the ability to delegate responsibilities. This makes the difference between a control freak and a wise executive. Don’t shy away from delegating chores! A Thanksgiving potluck party is called a party for a reason. You should enjoy every aspect of the celebration and it’s going to be extremely hard if you are stressing out or doing everything all by yourself.  Allow each family member to reveal their assistant skills. One member of the family can compile a Thanksgiving shopping list while someone else monitors the supplies and inventory. Cooperation, mutual respect and altruism bring families together and unite them better than any festive tradition.

3. THIS IS A THANKSGIVING POTLUCK PARTY - ASK YOUR GUESTS TO CONTRIBUTE!

Remember the sign-up sheet we mentioned earlier? Sharing it online before the event can actually help you plan out and count up the different kinds of dishes you'll assign to your guests - you don't want to end up with fifteen turkeys and not a single piece of pie. Make sure you have main courses, salads, drinks and deserts - keep the menu versatile.

You can even turn your regular old Thanksgiving potluck party into a contest, where each guest brings their own traditional Thanksgiving specialities. At the end of the party guests can vote for the best appetizer or best drink - just remember to make as many categories as possible, make it a friendly competition where everyone wins and no one is left behind.

4. FOOD ALLERGY ALERT

It's a tricky situation: you're not in full control of the food on the table. There may be allergies of all sorts or intolerabilities you can't know about or kids that hate greens - everything has to be taken into account.

Plan everything in advance: make a public chat or an online RSVP and have your guests list their food-related allergies. This will give others a chance to plan dishes and appetizers that are as safe as possible.

If the party is exceptionally big, print out sets of stickers with a list of ingredients inside every dish and place them near the plates.

5. KEEP IN TOUCH WITH YOUR GUESTS

Ask your guests to be vocal about their plans for the event: as the host, you need to be sure whether they are definitely coming or not and if they want to take anyone else with them - otherwise you may get some unpleasant surprises. Planning the seating arrangements may sound like an outdated joke, but it's still better not put aunt Marry next to cousin Bob if he still owes her money. No one wants their potluck party to turn into a battlefield.

6. HOW ABOUT AN OFFICE THANKSGIVING POTLUCK?

To some people, their work becomes their second - or even first - home. You can be closer to some colleagues than to your relatives. How about a corporate Thanksgiving party? Put your office tables together, ask each employee to bring a signature Thanksgiving dish and in the blink of an eye, your open-space will be good enough to host a good old heartwarming Thanksgiving dinner.

Or you could consider moving the office party to your home: it all depends on the size of your office and relationship between you and your colleagues.