Christmas parties

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Who brings food to a party? That is so odd to me.

NP. Our neighbors are kind enough to have their home cleaned and provide space for 100 people every year; they get two big ice luges and have tons of alcohol and some food. But the theme is potluck, so everyone brings not just some food, but GOOD food. So the hosts don’t have that cost or work burden on top of everything else they are doing. They give us all the opportunity to enjoy a big neighborhood party. Bringing a dish or two is a small effort compared to their generosity.

[Anonymous]

I've in a social world through my kids' schools where everyone has things catered with staff--like 6-10 servers per party. I'm way out of my league so I don't host.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I've in a social world through my kids' schools where everyone has things catered with staff--like 6-10 servers per party. I'm way out of my league so I don't host.

Yeah who has thousands to spend on this stuff?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Who brings food to a party? That is so odd to me.

NP. Our neighbors are kind enough to have their home cleaned and provide space for 100 people every year; they get two big ice luges and have tons of alcohol and some food. But the theme is potluck, so everyone brings not just some food, but GOOD food. So the hosts don’t have that cost or work burden on top of everything else they are doing. They give us all the opportunity to enjoy a big neighborhood party. Bringing a dish or two is a small effort compared to their generosity.

Same.

I brought food to a book party and a birthday party and just offered to bring something to a holiday party. I was not the only one to bring food…

In one case, the host did not want people to bring any food. I brought flowers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I used to have a party every year, and it is so much work and so expensive. So many people don't even show up with a bottle of wine, so providing drinks to 70 people for 5 hours is a lot. I have a smaller New Years Day open house now. Less alcohol and more relaxed.

Or, a bunch of people say they’ll come, so you plan for that number of people, and then texts start an HOUR before the party that they can’t make it and you overbought . So annoying.

+1 The number of times people have come and say "Oh DH decided to just stay home." And I've already spent so much on food is frustrating. It really puts me off from hosting.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I used to have a party every year, and it is so much work and so expensive. So many people don't even show up with a bottle of wine, so providing drinks to 70 people for 5 hours is a lot. I have a smaller New Years Day open house now. Less alcohol and more relaxed.

Same. Our Christmas parties used to cost us thousands of dollars and they were tons of work. People still ask us if we’re hosting and I want to say: “Why don’t you??”

Maybe you should host, OP, instead of waiting for an invitation.

I don't get this. We host a big party and every year I get enough wine to last through the year. We spend about $500 on mix drinks and the bare minimum of basic food. People always bring extra food and drinks. I do reach out to good friends and ask them to bring things sometimes.

Read your post. You buy basic food. We don't. You ask friends to bring things. We don't. There's the math for you. When we host, we go all out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I used to have a party every year, and it is so much work and so expensive. So many people don't even show up with a bottle of wine, so providing drinks to 70 people for 5 hours is a lot. I have a smaller New Years Day open house now. Less alcohol and more relaxed.

Same. Our Christmas parties used to cost us thousands of dollars and they were tons of work. People still ask us if we’re hosting and I want to say: “Why don’t you??”

Maybe you should host, OP, instead of waiting for an invitation.

I don't get this. We host a big party and every year I get enough wine to last through the year. We spend about $500 on mix drinks and the bare minimum of basic food. People always bring extra food and drinks. I do reach out to good friends and ask them to bring things sometimes.

Read your post. You buy basic food. We don't. You ask friends to bring things. We don't. There's the math for you. When we host, we go all out.

+100 Also, I don't want the crappy Barefoot Wine some people bring.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Who brings food to a party? That is so odd to me.

Now you just sound highfalutin.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We were not invited to single Christmas party this year. Our "usual" ones no longer happen but I am wondering iff we did sonethubg or if they are just not back like these once were.

Same thing happened to us, so we are planning a holiday bonfire / block party as our neighborhood has gentrified over the last two years and a mix of families/households have moved in. This will enable neighbors to meet neighbors, and new friendships to develop.

think outside the box and make the most of the holiday season!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When are you hosting yours?

Exactlyyyyy. I got so tired of being the one who hosted every event and finally stopped. YOU throw the party this year OP.

Calm down. Look, you're not obligated to host anything. But, it was YOUR choice in the past to do so, even if it made you as miserable as you appear to be. But, if you routinely had one, it is reasonable to expect people will wonder if you're doing so again. No? Fine.

But don't expect others to be required to do so. Or to know about what a miserable sh-- you are just b/c you chose to host something that you didn't enjoy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I used to have a party every year, and it is so much work and so expensive. So many people don't even show up with a bottle of wine, so providing drinks to 70 people for 5 hours is a lot. I have a smaller New Years Day open house now. Less alcohol and more relaxed.

Same. Our Christmas parties used to cost us thousands of dollars and they were tons of work. People still ask us if we’re hosting and I want to say: “Why don’t you??”

Maybe you should host, OP, instead of waiting for an invitation.

A silver lining of covid was that we had a forced break from all of these events and get to pick and choose what we wanted to bring back in. We also decided to not host a big holiday party anymore. I had not enjoyed it as much the last few years before 2020, and realized I didn't miss it. When it feels like more work than fun, it's time to let it go