Hospitality 101: Practical Menu Ideas to Lessen the Stress
I’m so glad so many of you are joining me on this challenge to do better when it comes to hospitality and overcoming the excuses of inviting more people into our lives and homes! If you missed part one of this mini series, you can find that HERE. My goal for this post is to give us a list of some practical menu ideas that we can go to when we need inspiration for where to start!
I opened up a discussion in my Instagram stories over the weekend and asked for ideas from followers on what has worked for you in the past and I got some great answers! Sharing those along with some others I’ve used or heard of through the years! Here we go!
1. A popcorn snack with just drinks and popcorn! This can be as simple or as elaborate as you’d like! Popcorn is so inexpensive, yet loved by most! Many of you may remember I’ve done several popcorn bars with toppings for parties in the past! Remember these??
2. Finger foods like pinwheels (find ready-made ones in the freezer section), Chick-fil-A nugget trays, or fruit, just to name a few!
3. Fixer-upper frozen pizzas! I love this idea. Get the basic pizzas as well as some extra toppings and fixings and let the guests dress their pizzas to their liking. Sounds like a fun way to make the meal together!
4. Make-ahead dishes like shepherd’s pie, baked dishes, or soups are great ideas to be able to prepare ahead of time so there’s less stress to finish at the guests’ arrival times. Here are a few recipe ideas like this that I’ve shared in the past!
5. Coffee and cake! Never underestimate the sweet simplicity of this classic offering. Whether it’s a special homemade recipe or a pre-made pick-up, it’s a sweet gesture that goes a long way!
6. Don’t want to bake? Another sweet option is a donut cake! We’ve done this for birthday celebrations before, but it can be for anytime! Easy to do… just stack and serve!
7. A walking taco bar! One of my friends is really good at setting these up for parties and it’s basically a small bag of corn chips or Doritos, which you open up and add a little chili, cheese and toppings to! It’s all contained in one bag and delicious to eat as well!
8. Along these same lines is a taco bar, which you can even ask the guests to bring different toppings to share in providing the menu!
9. An ice cream party is always a fun idea in the summer and, like the popcorn, can be as simple as opening up a carton, or as elaborate as adding toppings and decorations! If that’s your style, you might like this party I threw for some teen girls which was super fun. You can find the full post HERE.
10. You can also have a “party” where you might teach your guests to make a special dish or recipe! I have a good friend who makes excellent spring rolls. She has hosted friends many times to come over and roll them, each of us bringing some of the ingredients. Then we make them together, eat some, and then take some home to freeze for later! This is a post with that recipe. What recipe to you make that you could teach??
11. Charcuterie! There are possibly a million and one ways to do a charcuterie board now that they have become so popular! A simple search on Pinterest will get you started!
12. Pasta dinners! If a small budget is an issue for not inviting friends, pasta is a great option! It’s filling, inexpensive, and so versatile with the many combinations. Consider offering a cooked pasta with 2 or three kinds of sauces for guests to try. Served with bread and salad is a great meal.
13. Breakfast. If dinner ideas overwhelm you, maybe breakfast is more your thing! One dish breakfast casseroles, pancakes with toppings, or biscuits and eggs are all great ideas for breakfast or brunch!
14. S’mores! This is another classic that is especially fun for summer to fall! And since it’s outdoors, there’s even less preparation needed to clean the house or decorate for a party.
I hope these ideas give you a start on inspiration and motivation for a summer get-together! Do you have a favorite you think you might try??
June 28, 2022 @ 3:25 pm
All good ideas!
June 28, 2022 @ 7:02 pm
Some good ideas! A cookie sampler and coffee would be nice for a gathering. Also make your own sandwich and soup buffet would be easy too.
June 28, 2022 @ 8:45 pm
The donate cake!! Love that idea. I’m going to use that for a get together!
And what fun to learn to make something together! That’s a great idea
July 8, 2022 @ 9:27 am
Such a great series — thank you!
I’ve started keeping lists of get-togethers and holidays to refer back to. It helps me to put a menu together quickly and often the same birthday people ask for the same things year after year so those menus/shopping lists are already made. Plus, I have a few that are just “friends for dinner” or “small group gathering” or “deliver a meal” to look back to streamline it all.
Thank you for reminding us
July 30, 2022 @ 12:24 pm
Some very good ideas. I will try the walking taco bar soon. This summer I designed 3 brunches for ladies from church to gather just to chat and get to know others. I call it Brown Bag Brunch where each guest brings their own lunch & drinks and dessert provided by hostess. It works because of different diets along with less stress for the hostess hopefully inspiring others to want to host. In June we had 5 ladies where I explained the concept and they were given 10 invites for July. One for themselves and the other to invite a guest. In July we had 10 ladies and again I gave out invites for August, this time 20. I have had a 2 yr hiatus from attending morning church services due to COVID then health problems so I don’t know the new ladies or even a lot of the long time members since we only moved here in 2018. So I wouldn’t really know them well enough to invite them myself. It is working so well, I get friendship opportunities & all the women love it. We’re all looking forward to August’s BBB.