My aunt's potluck vs. my cousin's potluck made me realize there's a right way to do family gatherings

So at my aunt's Thanksgiving potluck last month, everyone just brought whatever and we ended up with 4 bags of chips and 3 desserts but no real main dish lol. It was chaos and my uncle had to order pizza halfway through. Then at my cousin's potluck 2 weeks later, she actually made a spreadsheet with sign-ups and assigned categories like proteins, sides, and apps. We had actual turkey, mashed potatoes, and even a green bean casserole. The difference was night and day tbh. Has anyone else had a family gathering where the lack of planning made everything super awkward?

3 comments

3 Comments

sammoore1mo ago

Spreadsheets are the way to go. My family does a sign-up sheet every year for our Christmas get-together and it saves so much headache. We do it old school on paper though, passed around at the previous gathering or emailed around. Everyone picks a category like appetizer, side dish, dessert, or drinks, and we make sure proteins are covered by two or three people. The key is having someone who isn't afraid to say "we've got enough desserts, we need vegetables" and just assign people things if they don't have a preference. It sounds bossy but everyone appreciates it when there's actual food to eat. Your cousin gets it.

oliver_wilson4925d ago

Oh my, that Thanksgiving pizza story still makes me cringe. @sammoore hit the nail on the head about having a firm coordinator. In my family, we learned the hard way after a Christmas dinner where five people brought potato salad and nobody brought a roast. Now my sister keeps a printed sign-up sheet and she's not afraid to say "you're on dessert duty, not chips." It's not bossy if it saves everyone from eating chips for dinner.

patriciap521mo ago

Four bags of chips and three desserts but no main dish" is genuinely hilarious and horrifying at the same time. I can't believe your uncle had to order pizza at Thanksgiving, that's a level of chaos I've never witnessed but now fear. Honestly I think I'd rather have the spreadsheet, at least everyone knows what they're eating.