Just because it’s cold outside doesn’t mean you have to stay cooped up in front of the television. One way to beat the winter blues is to organize a progressive dinner, a low-key event that involves eating several courses of a meal, each at a new location. They are perfect for cold nights and apartment living; no one has to walk very far! Progressive dinners are a great way to try new foods and recipes, get moving, and get to know your neighbors. Here’s how you get one started.
Find the organizer.Someone has to be in charge of the orchestration (is it you?). Don’t worry! It’s only as complicated as you make out it to be. Here are some general planning guidelines.
- Number of homes/courses: Determine how many families/people/homes you’d like to invite. Start small. After all, there are only so many courses to a meal and only so much room in your home.
You can also choose to only do appetizers and desserts or soups and salads; if you are the planner, you get ability to decide!
- Times: Think about how much time you’d like to spend at each home and the time it takes to get from one home to the next. This will help people plan what to make and how long they have to prepare it ahead of time.
- Date: Once you get a feel for who is interested, you’ll need to find a date when everyone is available. This will likely be your hardest part as it may be hard to leave anyone out. Just remember, once you do one progressive dinner, you’ll probably end up doing them on a regular basis. If one family can’t make it this time, there is always the next one!
Special note: As you are gathering interest for your event, make sure to ask your invitees if they have any food allergies or aversions. While you may not be able to accommodate every concern, it’s good information for everyone to know.
Decide: To Theme or Not to Theme. Once you’ve figured out the who and the when, it’s time to figure out the how and the what. Choosing a theme for your progressive dinner may make it easier for guests to come up with a dish and keep the flavors flowing together. Here are some ideas to get you started.
- Mexican fiesta
- Crockpot dishes (this one is fun because almost all of us have one and everything can be made in advance!)
- Finger foods
- Tropical islands
- Meals centered around a common ingredient
- Famous family recipes.
Or maybe you decide just to wing it and let everyone pick based on his or her preference, ability, and time availability. Anything is possible!
Make the assignments. Once you’ve decided on a theme (or not), it’s time to assign courses to your participants. You can either designate on your own, they can draw from a hat, or they can sign up for what they want. There are many ways to get this task done, whether they all respond via email with their preferences, you create an online sign up, or you post a list outside your door and tell your friends to stop by and fill in a blank.
Plan Extra-curricular, if any. This part is completely optional, and will depend on the number of people involved and the space available. You could have games available at each location, trivia about each hosting family, ice breaker games, etc. If this is your first progressive dinner, try to stick with just the food at first to get a feel for how it goes.
Send out the maps and invitations. Once the meals have been assigned, it’s time to send out the official invitation, which details who is involved, what they are making (make sure to get the name of the dish!), and where they are located. Make a map (it’s fun!) and let people know what times and how long the meals will be served at each location. This way the party can keep moving, and if someone is late, they know exactly where to pick up.
So, there you have it: a great way to kick off a community event with just a little elbow grease and a lot of good food and fun. Happy planning!
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