Yahoo Finance Dave Ramsey: 7 Cheap Holiday Party Food and Potluck Ideas
If you’re on a budget and want to organize a fun, inexpensive way to celebrate the holidays with your family and friends — you can’t go wrong with a potluck.
Hosting a large get-together can easily rack up costs. But getting everyone involved in meal-prepping is a great way to reduce your expenses.
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According to money guru Dave Ramsey, you can celebrate good times and still have space to cover your essentials. Here are some of his suggestions for cheap foods and potluck ideas to try out.
Skip the Caterer and Shop Wholesale
When it comes to organizing a budget-friendly event, Ramsey says to ditch catering services and visit your wholesale food store instead. Visiting Costco, for example, lets you buy in bulk for a large assortment of party foods, like mini quiches and bite-sized eclairs.
“Some of these foods just need to thaw and some need to be cooked. But all are simpler and thriftier than paying someone else to do all the work.”
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Become an Expert of the Charcuterie Board
“Charcuterie is just a fancy name for a board covered in cheeses, meats, fruits, crackers, jams, nuts and the like,” said Ramsey.
He adds that you can get as pricey or as thrifty as you like with these and still come up with a beautiful display for your guests. It all comes down to getting creative with food placement.
He recommends looking up visual examples online and then shopping for the cheapest versions at the grocery store. These boards generally include a good selection of rolled up deli meats, bite-sized portions of block cheese, fun-sized veggies like tomatoes and olives, and even an assortment of nuts.
For display, he suggests your everyday wooden cutting board. “Or if you want to be the go-to ‘charcuterist’ in your crew, invest in a lovely board you can use over and over and over.”
Ask People To Bring Pots of Soup
If you’re hosting a giant potluck, a pot of soup can go a long way in feeding people. They’re also a healthy and tasty addition to your party.
You can also make some of your own that will combine nicely with other plates, like broccoli or potato soup — both make excellent side dishes.
Host a Buffet-Style Bar
As Ramsey explains, you can provide the main course and have everyone else bring other sides. “It’s a great way to feed a crowd by sharing the food responsibilities.”
Some of the ideas he suggests include: a baked potato bar, pasta bar, taco salad bar and a regular salad bar.
For many of these, you can provide the meats or other feature items, and ask guests to bring other ingredients to complement.
Get Creative With Drinks
Instead of simply grabbing the most convenient drinks at the store, you can get creative with just a few key food items. According to Ramsey, you can make things a bit more upscale without upping the cost much by adding “some scoops of sherbet to lemon-lime soda for a simple party punch.”
Try a Dip-Themed Menu
In one of his most delicious recommendations, Ramsey suggests covering your table in yummy dipping delights. Here are a few of his favorites: cowboy caviar, black bean and corn salsa, spinach and artichoke dip, churro cheesecake delight, and cannoli dip.
The best part of hosting this kind of potluck is that it’s relatively easy for your guests to make, and the dipping ingredients are fairly inexpensive, as well.
You can try your hand at Ramsey’s recipe for spinach and artichoke dip:
“Mix up 1 cup of mayo, 1 cup of sour cream, 1 packet of dry ranch mix, 1 can of chopped-up and drained artichoke hearts, and 10 ounces of once-frozen (now thawed and super well drained) chopped-up spinach. Chill that in the fridge, then give everyone at the party chills with this flavorful and financially reasonable dish.”
He says you can serve this with buttery crackers or ripped-up pieces of whatever bakery bread was on sale. Better yet: get your guests to bring it.
You Can’t Go Wrong With Rice and Beans
These staple ingredients are especially great for crowds. They also make excellent side dishes to accompany most meat dishes.
Ramsey says this is one of the thriftiest options for a budget-friendly party.
If you want to take your beans and rice meals to the next level, you can “class things up” by making them into a jambalaya, Mexican casserole or even a gumbo.
Finally, he gives one last tip for keeping it cheap.
“Remember, any time you skip the meat on one of those recipes, you save some money. Meat is expensive, and beans are cheap protein!”
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