We'll bring the grill and you'll bring the food!

[jpcher]

Bumping for an update . . . OP how did things turn out?

[Aeris]

I think there are generally 3 ways to do a basic potluck/bring your own type party:

1) Hosts supply the main, everyone brings a side to share

2) Everyone brings something, including meats, for everyone to share. This would require someone signing up to bring enough hotdogs for the whole group, etc.

3) Organizers provide the location, and everyone brings a side dish to share, and meat for their family/group.




I think the problem is that there's some confusion between the organizers and the attendees as to which type of event it is between #2 and #3. Sometimes organizers try too hard to be laid back and chill, and/or are afraid of being the super controlling 'organizer' of many a horror story, and as a result err too far on 'whatever people want to do'.

Interested to see how this got resolved.

[takeheart]

Bumping for an update . . . OP how did things turn out?

Since my last post, BIL wrote "I'm bringing the grill and kickball gear!" and Sister wrote "Only a week away!" (or something similar) on the Facebook event wall. Only one couple responded that they will not be attending, but no one else has commented anything. The count remains at 20-ish and the menu remains the same as well.

The get together is this Saturday, so I'll be back to let everyone knows how it turned out.

[MacadamiaNut]

Bumping for an update . . . OP how did things turn out?

Since my last post, BIL wrote "I'm bringing the grill and kickball gear!" and Sister wrote "Only a week away!" (or something similar) on the Facebook event wall. Only one couple responded that they will not be attending, but no one else has commented anything. The count remains at 20-ish and the menu remains the same as well.

The get together is this Saturday, so I'll be back to let everyone knows how it turned out.

In a case like this, I'd pack a granola bar .

[jpcher]

Bumping for an update . . . OP how did things turn out?

Since my last post, BIL wrote "I'm bringing the grill and kickball gear!" and Sister wrote "Only a week away!" (or something similar) on the Facebook event wall. Only one couple responded that they will not be attending, but no one else has commented anything. The count remains at 20-ish and the menu remains the same as well.

The get together is this Saturday, so I'll be back to let everyone knows how it turned out.

Thanks, takeheart. For some reason I thought the party was last Saturday. My apologies for jumping the gun.

[takeheart]

UPDATE: The get together turned out to be a surprise success! About 20 people showed up plus two dogs and four kids, which Sister and BIL provided a slip-n-slide for the kids. I'm not sure what everyone brought, but we ended up with more than enough food and drinks that included burgers, hot dogs, variety of chips, two kinds of potato salad, fresh fruits, cookies, and a cake.

The get together turned out to be a 2) Everyone brings something, including meats, for everyone to share. This would require someone signing up to bring enough hotdogs for the whole group, etc. type of potluck, but it was simply poorly worded initially.  A day or two before the get together, Sister wrote: As of right now, someone needs to bring hotdogs and "sides"! Cookies, salad of some sort, and really that's it haha...Any dish you feel is your "go-to" for gatherings! We loooovveee food! Oh and Friend, are you bringing the condiments for burgers? If not we will grab them! BIL and I are signed up for a fruit platter and chips as of right now though! It's supposed to be about 85 degrees so it'll be cooler than lately =), so this implies that it was a sign-up-to-bring-something potluck.

What also made it difficult to figure out initially was that the guests invited didn't know each other well or some at all, so it wasn't a "norm" in our social group to have this kind of get together since we weren't a social group. Everyone had fun though and suggested we do it again!

[MacadamiaNut]

Great update!  I'm glad it worked out and nobody was left hungry.

[jpcher]

I love it when a plan comes together! 


I do have to apologize for saying that your SIL was unorganized . . . but I understand her frustration "Nobody's responding! What do we do? Arggh!" I'm glad that she pushed a bit in the end.

What also made it difficult to figure out initially was that the guests invited didn't know each other well or some at all, so it wasn't a "norm" in our social group to have this kind of get together since we weren't a social group. Everyone had fun though and suggested we do it again!

Yea!