Are you looking to organize a potluck dinner at home?

Do you want some tips to help make the process easy?

One of the pleasures in hosting a potluck lunch or dinner is the amount and variety of dishes.

There’s so many different flavors and tastes from which to choose.

Unfortunately, one of the downsizes is that you run the risk of people bringing duplicate dishes.

You don’t want to be stuck with three pasta and two potato dishes…

In this post, you’ll find some tips to help you organize a successful potluck.

Get an accurate headcount.

It’s difficult to throw any party or event without knowing the total number of attendees.

Set a total number of people you’d like to invite to your potluck, or write out a list of confirmed attendees.

Count any “Maybe” or “Undecided” invitations as “Will Not Attend” to be on the safe side.

You don’t want to end up short a dish!

Once you’ve finalized your numbers, you can move on to food planning.

Choose a potluck theme.

Pepperoni pizza, vegetable lo mein, empanadas…and gelato? Why not?

One of the great things about potlucks is that you can sample many different dishes and tastes.

Instead of limiting people to bringing a certain type of cuisine, why not extend your reach with a broad theme for the potluck?

This makes it easier for people to identify and bring dishes.

For example, you might choose themes such as Favorite Foods, such as macaroni and cheese, pizza, chocolate cake.

You could choose Old Family Recipes, such as apple pie, garlic roasted chicken, and summer salad.

You could even select Regional Favorites, such as Boston baked beans, Louisiana jambalaya, Texas Chili, and so on.

Create contribution categories.

Each invitee should bring one item from one of the major dish groups as listed below:

• Appetizers
• Soups
• Salads
• Main Dishes
• Side Dishes
• Desserts
• Beverages

Of course, you can mix and match any of the groups above to suit your needs.

If you’re having a small potluck with only five people, you would only need an appetizer, main dish, side dish, dessert, and beverage.

Obviously, the more people attending your potluck, the more dishes you’ll need to feed everyone.

A good start is to divide the total number of attendees by the total number of dish groups.

That should give you a general idea as to how many dishes you’ll need.

If you’re having a potluck with, say, twenty-one people, you might want to start with three dishes from each of the above groups.

You can of course adjust these numbers as you see fit.

Perhaps you want to have less main dishes and more side dishes, or less desserts and more main dishes.

It’s completely up to you.

Don’t forget non-food items.

It’s a good idea to give people the option of bringing items other than food or beverages.

It’s perfect for those less culinary inclined, or who would rather help out in some other way.

Guests could bring:

• Tablecloths
• Table decor and/or centerpiece
• Napkins
• Knives, forks, spoons
• Plates
• Bowls
• Cups
• Paper towels
• Serving spoons
• Chafing dishes and/or sternos
• Plastic food containers or zippered plastic bags (for leftovers!)
• Moist towelettes
• Garbage bags

Request potluck contributions.

There’s a couple of ways to request potluck contributions from your guests. You could:

• Email your contacts your potluck theme and dish groups/non-food items and ask them for their contributions
• Set up a signup sheet on Google Docs with your potluck theme and dish groups/non-food items and ask people to add in their contributions
• Print out a signup sheet and place in a prominent place (if at a volunteer group, workplace, school, or other location)

Here’s a few pointers to keep in mind:

Be sure to include a due date for dishes.

You don’t want the dish selection process to go on forever!

Plus, you’ll want to know what everyone is bringing a couple of days before the potluck.

First come, first served.

To be fair to everyone, make it clear that once dishes/non-food items are taken, they are unavailable.

Or, you could simply assign courses to people to ensure everyone won’t bring a dessert or main course.

Continually monitor contributions.

Make edits to your potluck menu as necessary.

You can let people know what dishes/non-food items are available, assign courses/dishes as necessary, and follow-up with those who have not yet submitted their contributions.

I have an event planning guide that could help you plan your party or event. Click here to find out more.

If you want to organize your thoughts, ideas, and plans so you can work more productively, let’s talk. Click here to schedule a strategy session with me.

How about you? What do you find the most challenging thing about holding a potluck? Join the conversation and leave a comment below!