In this time of the year all of us have a few Christmas dinners and lunches and many times it ends up being expensive, if we want to go to all of them. Usually how does this work for you, who organized them and makes sure the place is according to everyone's budget?
When we have our Christmas family gatherings we usually have everyone bring their own favorite dish to share. So we end up having about 20 different dishes and desserts to try out. This has actually been a long time tradition of ours and we love it. Really makes us come together with different foods.
We usually hire someone in the family to cook and prepare food at some gatherings. They always give us a special discount and we save lots of money. We also only pay depending on how much everyone has eaten. It's a guy behind a grill type deal. You just go up to him and tell him what you want. It can be burritos, tacos, burgers, hotdogs or chicken.
Christmas is the best season of the year which my family members are coming home for a reunion. In this particular time, I would have to prepare a budget which could accommodate them enough for our meals. I know eating outside from home is too expensive but if I am prepared for that I don't have to worry for it. Anyway, it is only done every year but not as often as it is.
This year we are having a pizza lunch for Christmas. Pizza hut is open for deliveries near our home and that's where we're going to get our pizza from. I asked my Mom what she wanted for our Christmas day meals. She shot back pizza. Well, I went to Pizza Hut and noticed they'll be open for Christmas till 8PM and they will deliver on Christmas! Our Christmas and Thanksgiving party giver passed and since then we spend our quiet Thanksgiving and Christmas at home just Mom and I. Back when we gathered for Thanksgiving and Christmas we all went pot lock and enjoyed it. I usually cook a pot roast, until we couldn't afford it. Meat is so high these days in Hawaii. It's a pizza meal for us this Christmas.
I love the Christmas spirit of having a Christmas lunch on Pizza Hut! In fact, when gathering with co-workers or friends I think an economical solution is just fine, as long as everyone agree with it. Going to a more expensive solution can many times cause that some people don't go because they can't afford it.
Our Christmas lunch is usually held in the house of my wife's sister. It is a pot luck party and we bring cooked food of 2 dishes. But come to think of it that it is very laborious so we changed our food assignment by ordering roast pig which became the star of the Christmas lunch last year. For this year we are again bringing the same... one whole roasted pig.
Those are always better @Alexandoy, not only home cooked meals are better, but it ends up being cheaper too. At the same time, it's not custom where I live that we make Christmas lunch for co-workers on each others places, so the restaurant ends up being the more common solution.
We generally attend number of contributory Christmas parties so it is not possible for us to cook for all of them but we cook an item or two for specific parties but in most cases we buy them from food chains or grocery stores. It would be worth mentioning here as vegetarians we always prefer fruits salads and cakes besides keeping the choice of the host in our mind.We always carry fruit juice which is much appreciated by our co-guests too.
That happens too @Ray1. For example, I had my dinner lunch at a cafeteria, actually it was pretty cheap, but on my wife's job each one contributed with something and they gathered in the common room they have and made a buffet. I think this informal situation is better, but it's not always possible due to space.
