S/O: Are potlucks tacky?

[Anonymous]

I think it's ok if you state up front it's a potluck. I was invited to celebrate a friends birthday last year, accepted, and three days later given a list of stuff to bring. Had I known sooner, I could have gotten the items on my weekend shopping trip, but I wasn't told until the workweek had started and it was a day or two before the event. I didn't have time to walk a mile out of my way to make another trip to the store and wasn't keen on doing it in a cold snap. I recinded my yes and said I couldn't make it after all. It wasn't worth the extra work.

I'm happy to bring something if I know that's what I'm up for when I accept the invite. It's fun to try different things even if the flavored don't "blend."

[Anonymous]

I love potlucks that say, "bring something fun to share!"

Most folks bring something to eat and drink. Plenty of things to snack on and drink.

[Anonymous]

I don't think it's tacky, I just think when I invite people over I want to host them and take care of everything.

[Anonymous]

Your friends are probably tired of people not being satisfied with their selection of drinks. "Larla prefers sauvignon blanc, not chardonnay."

[Anonymous]

I like potlucks. Bonus points if it is an international crowd with a variety of dishes!

I hosted Thanksgiving one years with friends from India and Egypt. They insisted on bringing food (I think because they didn't want to eat what I had made.) It was traditional Thanksgiving food with a ton of Indian and Egyptian side dishes. It was awesome!!

People who think potlucks are tacky are too rigid in what they deem appropriate. I like seeing people and don't care if someone asks me to bring a dish.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think its tacky. It's not that hard to put together a nice simple meal.

For 28, as is the case with some of our football gatherings? Goodness! Yes, we can ALL do a nice meal for 8 every now and then. But 16+ people, especially with different ages like family gatherings, and it gets complex and expensive really fast.

[Anonymous]

We do a potluck party once a year in the fall. We provide drinks, and all the meat for the grill. Everyone else brings side dishes, salads, or dessert. Most people also bring drinks, but we don't ask for it. It's usually over 50 people so everyone is happy to help out. The rest of the year we host dinner parties and smaller get-togethers, but those aren't potluck.

[Anonymous]

They tend to skew tacky!

So much would depend upon the situation and event.

Embarrassed to admit, but I've attended a potluck wedding. That's just wrong. I brought a homemade lasagna. In this case it was under the direction of the bride's family who was trying to cut corners and save some money. In this case, elope. it was as sad as it sounds.

I've been to a potluck funeral reception, too, although in this case, small-town church ladies bring "their" special/standard dish but the aggrieved family doesn't have to provide a dish. Potluck in the church hall!

Generally, to intentionally host a potluck seems cheap. How hard is it to plan a simple, inexpensive menu for a small crowd? I enjoy throwing parties and make certain To make my beer drinking or vegetarian or little kid guests happy.

[Anonymous]

We get together with our neighbors a lot, and we all pitch in and bring stuff to the host's house and that's fun and doesn't put the onus on one family. What I think is tacky is when we're invited to what's being called a party, and then the email or sign up genius goes out after you RSVP for people to sign up to bring stuff. If I'm hosting a party for an event or an occasion then I'm providing everything. For casual get togethers, pot luck is fine.

[Anonymous]

No, I think they are fun and give people without the income or wherewithall to host a large dinner. If I did not do this, I would never throw a party at all. Of course, I am from the south and this was considered an OK thing to do as long as you provided the meat or something else more expensive.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:They tend to skew tacky!

So much would depend upon the situation and event.

Embarrassed to admit, but I've attended a potluck wedding. That's just wrong. I brought a homemade lasagna. In this case it was under the direction of the bride's family who was trying to cut corners and save some money. In this case, elope. it was as sad as it sounds.

I've been to a potluck funeral reception, too, although in this case, small-town church ladies bring "their" special/standard dish but the aggrieved family doesn't have to provide a dish. Potluck in the church hall!

Generally, to intentionally host a potluck seems cheap. How hard is it to plan a simple, inexpensive menu for a small crowd? I enjoy throwing parties and make certain To make my beer drinking or vegetarian or little kid guests happy.

Oh man, one of the best weddings I've ever been to was potluck! It was in a tent in the groom's parents' backyard, featured a bluegrass/Celtic band, and was just generally laid back. We all had an awesome time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:They tend to skew tacky!

So much would depend upon the situation and event.

Embarrassed to admit, but I've attended a potluck wedding. That's just wrong. I brought a homemade lasagna. In this case it was under the direction of the bride's family who was trying to cut corners and save some money. In this case, elope. it was as sad as it sounds.

I've been to a potluck funeral reception, too, although in this case, small-town church ladies bring "their" special/standard dish but the aggrieved family doesn't have to provide a dish. Potluck in the church hall!

Generally, to intentionally host a potluck seems cheap. How hard is it to plan a simple, inexpensive menu for a small crowd? I enjoy throwing parties and make certain To make my beer drinking or vegetarian or little kid guests happy.

I'm from the Midwest and each church has a committee of women who cook and provide food for receptions after a funeral. Not potluck or tacky, quite standard.

[Anonymous]

No not tacky.

[Anonymous]

I like potluck a when hosting a group with lots of food allergies and/or picky eaters. I usually try to plan it so that I'm not inviting the vegetarian, the gluten-intolerant, the lactose-intolerant, the tomato allergic, the corn-allergic, the mushroom-averse, the coconut milk-averse, and the bland food lover all over at the same time, but sometimes, despite my best efforts, I end up with a group that includes a number of the above.
Ugh.
Potlucks are great for those situations - I know that everyone will have at least Something that they can eat and enjoy and I'm not killing myself trying to come up with multiple versions of a main and sides.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:They tend to skew tacky!

So much would depend upon the situation and event.

Embarrassed to admit, but I've attended a potluck wedding. That's just wrong. I brought a homemade lasagna. In this case it was under the direction of the bride's family who was trying to cut corners and save some money. In this case, elope. it was as sad as it sounds.

I've been to a potluck funeral reception, too, although in this case, small-town church ladies bring "their" special/standard dish but the aggrieved family doesn't have to provide a dish. Potluck in the church hall!

Generally, to intentionally host a potluck seems cheap. How hard is it to plan a simple, inexpensive menu for a small crowd? I enjoy throwing parties and make certain To make my beer drinking or vegetarian or little kid guests happy.

Me too. What was especially wrong was that a) it was a second marriage for both and they had the money to have a reception b) they didn't ask enough people to bring food with the result that two-thirds of the guests didn't get fed. We had a toddler, had driven about eight hours to get there and then had to leave the reception to get food.