Dinner parties do not have to be expensive affairs – there are a number of ways in which you can cut the costs of a dinner party without compromising the dinner!
- Purchase in bulk or in the sale!!! This applies to anything but in particular, the biggest cost of a dinner party is generally the main course meat, fish or poultry. As long as you have a freezer in which to store things and ideally a Sunbeam Food Saver, you have everything you need! Next, head to your local fresh produce market at the end of the day or trading period. For example, South Melbourne Market is open Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. If you go down on a Sunday afternoon around 3pm, most of the stalls are selling off their fresh produce at half price or less! This is a great opportunity to buy ahead of time, anything you think you will cook in the future, and vacuum seal it and put it in the freezer!! You can take it out the day before to defrost naturally in the fridge OR if you take it out of the freezer and put it into a bowl of COLD water, you will find your items have defrosted in an hour or so!
- Start Shopping at Costco!!! People who have never shopped at Costco assume that you have to buy everything in ridiculously large quantities – this is simply not the case! Every day items cost the same or relatively less than the supermarket but come in a pack that is generally double the size. For some items such as washing powder, fabric conditioner, baking paper, baking foil, plastic wrap, the pack size is much bigger for not that much more than a smaller size pack at the supermarket! This is important. I shop at Costco every 2-3 months and only purchase the key things I need. As a result, my weekly shop has significantly reduced because all I purchase is fresh produce, fruit and vegetables. I have definitely saved a lot of money over time as the things I buy at Costco last much longer. Coscto also sells meats in bulk – I often buy them, split them into smaller quantities and vacuum seal them and freeze them.
- Cook extra and freeze leftovers immediately for another dinner at a later date!!! Inevitably, I always end up cooking extra – especially if I am making a slow cooked dish, a curry, a stew or a soup. As soon as the dinner party is over, I immediately put the lefovers into containers and freeze them – important to date and label them so you know what it is! I recently hosted a “Pot Luck” Dinner Party using my leftovers for the past 3 months – I chose selectively so all I had to do was add a side dish of rice and a vegetable dish to go with the leftovers – everyone loved it! Do not stress if each leftover pot is only enough to serve 1 or 2 people – with a Pot Luck Dinner, everyone is happy to try a little portion of everything on offer! Together, there is usually enough for everyone!
- Share the cost and effort with a friend!!! If you have a friend in the same social circle who is in a similar circumstance and you both want to host a dinner party for your mutual friends, do it together. You can split the costs and the effort and host a really great dinner! I used to do this with my flat mate many years ago – we used to have a ball!
Do not let cost be the reason for not hosting a dinner party! Just remember, your guests will be honoured that you have invited them over for dinner and will be happy with whatever you serve (as long as its edible!!!) – it is all about the company of friends! A simple cheese platter with dips and a nice tub of ice cream could be all it takes!!
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