This is a sponsored post from We Love Fire!
The holidays are just around the corner and you’re planning a family gathering. Inviting family over for a meal is a joyful occasion, but it can also be demanding and expensive. How can you host a family get-together, keep it simple and respect your budget? Here are a few tips that are sure to help.
Planning Is the Key
Time is your best friend when hosting a gathering. Starting to plan early enough allows you to find the best deals on food, drinks and other necessities. Stock up little by little on the things you know you will need as they come on sale.
Invitations
No need to send formal, physical invitations. Cut costs by sending invitations by e-mail. It’s simple and fast.
Prepare a Simple Meal
Keep the main dish simple.Use skewers to make meat and vegetable brochettes that can be cooked on the grill. A grill is a wonderful appliance to use when you’re entertaining. It leaves you with very little to clean-up and adds so much flavor to your food. People are attracted to grills – they enjoy gathering around while you cook and chatting with a beer in hand. You can cook pretty much anything on a grill, from burgers to pulled pork. It all depends on how much time you want to devote to cooking the meal.
Potluck
Hosting a family gathering that is a potluck reduces not only the cost of food, but also the stress of having everything ready on time. Ask your guests to contribute an appetizer, a salad or a dessert. Having a potluck might enable you to invite more guests to the family gathering.
Decorations
No need to go all out when decorating. A beautiful table arrangement does the trick. Use what you already have, such as tea candles and flowers from your backyard. Buy things that you can reuse. For example, bamboo cutting boards make for a nice cheese display. Buy small wood chalkboard signs to stick in the cheeses and pâtés to identify them. It’s the small details that create a breathtaking table, and they don’t cost a fortune.
Use a string of small white lights for some added ambiance. Frame family pictures and display them around the house for an added personal touch.
Chairs
If you don’t have enough chairs to accommodate everyone, ask guests to bring folding chairs.
Music
Make a playlist. If some family members are musically inclined, ask them to bring their instruments. Playing music and singing along bring a family closer together. There`s nothing like sitting around a fire with live music.
Games
If your family likes games, there are many fun family games that you can play. If you need inspiration, look it up online. One favourite that leads to a lot of laughs is writing the name of celebrities or fictional characters on a sticky note and sticking it on everyone’s forehead. Each person has to guess who’s on their sticky note by asking questions. Each question must be answered by “yes,” “no,” or “not applicable.”
Enjoy the Moment
Remember that the most important thing about family gatherings is the memories you make. Take the time to enjoy yourself and have fun with your family. Take pictures to immortalize these memories, and send them to everyone at your gathering. These family moments should be cherished by all.
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