I tell ya, I have very few original ideas.
Introducing…
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Last month, I was listening to a podcast of the Jennifer Fulwiler Show. Her friend and guest, Rachael, explained her twist on dinner club called “Dinner Club for Underachievers.” If you want to listen to the podcast and read more about my inspiration, click here.
Their Dinner Club for Underachievers looks like this:
- Couples take turn hosting the dinner club
- The hosts do not have to provide any food — they just provide drinks and paper plates and utensils
- Each guest brings a dish (appetizer, main course, or dessert)
- The guests don’t bring kids (but the host’s kids can stay there)
- We gather every other month
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I told Philip about the podcast and explained the gist to him. Together, we decided to create our own Dinner Club for Underachievers. We loved the idea because it made the idea of a fancy schmancy dinner club so much more accessible for young couples–especially those with little ones at home. We wanted a regular opportunity to gather the couples we know for some food, drinks, and fun. While I have had several opportunities to make friends through the parish and play dates, Philip has had few opportunities outside of work. We thought this would be a great chance to get the couples together and give the guys a chance to get together without organizing something themselves. Maybe they’ll do that down the road!
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We decided upon these general guidelines for our Dinner Club for Underachievers:
- The group will meet every odd month of the year
- Unless someone else wants to, we’re happy to continue hosting each time
- A sitter will help with our kids, and everyone else’s kids will stay home
- We’ll take care of a few appetizers, drinks, paper plates/plastic utensils
- Other couples are assigned an appetizer, entrée, side, or dessert (and are instructed how many servings to provide). We reminded them that it’s a Dinner Club for Underachievers, so they better not be slaving over their contribution in the kitchen.
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As we set about creating our guest list, we decided it would *NOT* be an exclusive group. (If you’re reading this and you were inadvertently left off of the guest list, I apologize! You’re more than welcome to join us for the next one in March–really! The more the merrier!) So, that being said, we had a long list of guests that we invited, assuming that several would have a conflict or wouldn’t want to commit. We wanted to have a large group so that the party can still go on when life happens and a few couples have to bow out. As the guest on the Jennifer Fulwiler show said, sometimes they might end up with more sides than entrées because of last minute cancellations, but they always have plenty of food because of the large guest list. She said nobody complains if that happens because they’re mostly young couples with little kids. They’re so happy to be out of the house that they barely notice the food!
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As it turns out, almost everyone we invited to our “Dinner Club for Underachievers” thought it sounded as fantastic as we did! The thought process seemed to be, “No kids? Uninterrupted adult conversation? Easy food contribution? SOLD!” Nearly everyone that we invited RSVP’d “yes,” so it’s gonna be a full house!
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Since we’re only responsible for providing the plates/utensils, a few apps, and drinks, hosting isn’t nearly as stressful as it would be if we were making the whole meal like dinner club hosts usually do. This frees us up to make some fun drinks (stay tuned to find out what’s at the bar) and add little perks to the evening to make it more enjoyable for the guests.
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Pray that the neighbors don’t call the police as our street is overtaken by cars. We’re just young people looking to have a good time with our friends! I’ll share pictures and other details after the event. Stay tuned…
To read more 7QT posts, head over to Kelly Mantoan’s hilarious blog, This Ain’t the Lyceum.
