what should i serve?

[salsah]

dh and i have decided that we need to entertain more. since having kids, we haven't had people over much because it stresses me out. i want the house to be perfect, i want to make something nice to serve, etc. so we decided that we just have to do it and try to keep things simple. (we figure that the more often we have people over, the more casual our entertaining will be, and the closer our friendships will be.)

so, some friends are coming over tomorrow afternoon. just one family. we didn't invite them over for a meal so i'm not sure what to serve. i figure we will hang out for a few hours and then go out together for dinner. i haven't done this in so long, i don't know what to serve!

[crl]

Pita chips and hummus? With some fresh fruit? And some cookies?

Catherine

[Tondi G]

Do they have and How old are their children?

So snack ideas would be

cut up fruit (melon and berries maybe)?
hummus and pita chips and baby carrots?
pretzels?
cheese and crackers?

You don't want to serve too much food cause it will spoil the kids appetites for dinner if you are going out.

[WatchingThemGrow]

When we're having someone over, I do try to make enough food so that we can all eat in. It gives the DC more time to play together, which really helps us be able to talk to the adults!

Is it possible to make something in the crockpot and put a salad with it? Our friends know that our hands are full and getting any food on the table is a challenge, so I don't think other parents expect the same kinds of meals you may have enjoyed pre-DC.

Are you sure the other family wants to go out? We are usually mindful of our food budget, so we really try not to eat out unless we're far from home and just can't. And other parents really don't care if everything is messy because you have kids. At least the ones who come to our house can't care...it is what it is..

[BeachBum]

If it was me, I'd do something easy and make ahead--a soup with salad and bread maybe. That way you could see how the day goes and decide if it is more natural to go out or stay in--and it would be fine for leftovers if you didn't end up eating it.

I definitely think you are right in taking a low key approach. We get together with two couples pretty regularly--it's easy because we are all on the same page about being very casual.
With some other friends it's harder because the only entertaining in that group seems to be actual parties. It's hard to change the tone. I would love to include them in our "casual" get togethers...but then I start to worry about being judged and leave them out. ;)

[Seitvonzu]

i'm like you-- like the house to look "perfect" (which is relative...but i do major cleaning / decluttering when people come over) and have lovely food and planned activities, etc. i would classify myself as an "over the top" entertainer. not with tons of people, but with elaborate food/decorations/activities/favors,etc. for lucy's second birthday, for example, we only had 3 kidlets and 3 mamas (it was basically a playdate)-- but it still was a full fledged tea party with fresh flowers, tea sandwiches/scones, tea/kirr royals, crystal & china, decorated hats/gloves/purses to wear & take, etc.

i'm coming to realize this means we don't have people so much anymore :( in grad school we ate with one other couple at LEAST once a week (alternating houses) and then our other friends a couple other times a week. it was a highly social time :)

i was never spontaneous, but now i'm even less so. i try to relax my standards sometimes (i don't , for example, hands and knees scrub my floor before playdates anymore), but i'm still learning. dh has been wanting to have people over for a "game night" lately...so we might do that-- chili or soup, bread & salad. i'm looking out the window at the light snow and that actually sounds really good TODAY :) better get that going for sometime in the next couple months -- cozy!

today i'm doing a different kind of adult get together- tea at a local tea house with my mama friends. i like that best sometimes, because we can actually TALK :) as our kids get older, it is easier, because they can play more independently...but sometimes it's easier to just be with adults :)

don't make things too hard. munchies. hummus & crackers sounds good to me. i'm sure you have things for kids already. and this time of year, people tend to watch the snacks more (after holiday overindulgence) so you are probably being mindful not having anything too heavy! HAVE FUN :)

[salsah]

thanks everyone. i went with the hummus idea. i already had pita chips and veggies for dipping on hand so i just asked dh to stop by tj's for some hummus.

it went really well. so nice to have people over w/o stressing. aside from the hummus, i served things (fruit and snacks) that i already had on hand. i baked a cake, simple, not a big deal. when they ended up staying longer, i pulled out some cookie dough that i made ahead of time and keep in the freeze and baked those too.

i realized that the another advantage to having people over more often is that it becomes easier/less stressful. i'm not so worried if my house is perfect every time they come over. and i'm more likely to have things on hand to serve.

[salsah]

Are you sure the other family wants to go out? We are usually mindful of our food budget, so we really try not to eat out unless we're far from home and just can't.

we know that they eat out a lot. we didn't actually make dinner plans since they were coming over in the early afternoon. i think the intention was for it not be a dinner thing. however dh and i talked about and since this family tends to stay for a long time when they visit, we figured we should have a plan for dinner. but since we didn't want me to stress out with having to prepare something, we decided that if their stay ran into dinner time, we would ask if they would like to go out or order in, and leave the decision up to them. we didn't have a preference but since they have a baby, we knew that they might not necessarily be up for going out.

[crl]

Glad things went well!

Catherine

[indigo99]

Oops. Didn't realize you already had the get-together. Was saying that we don't actually eat hummus, but I guess we must be in the minority.

[WatchingThemGrow]

we know that they eat out a lot. we didn't actually make dinner plans since they were coming over in the early afternoon. i think the intention was for it not be a dinner thing. however dh and i talked about and since this family tends to stay for a long time when they visit, we figured we should have a plan for dinner. but since we didn't want me to stress out with having to prepare something, we decided that if their stay ran into dinner time, we would ask if they would like to go out or order in, and leave the decision up to them. we didn't have a preference but since they have a baby, we knew that they might not necessarily be up for going out.
Glad it worked out! I forget that not everyone has an early dinner like us. We eat by 5:30 so "late afternoon" like after naps is around 4 and I start working towards dinner by 4:30 at the latest.

Sounds like some yummy stuff at your place!