Host a holiday party within your family’s budget

A well-known hotel trick is to place the salads and carbohydrates such as ugali, chapatis and potatoes at the beginning and the meats at the end of the buffet line.

By JOHN KARIUKI

This year’s Christmas will be celebrated mid this week and marking this day can be fairly expensive for many people who don’t have a plan. But planning does not mean that, like Ebenezer Scrooge in Charles Dickens’ book A Christmas Carol, you should avoid the festivity altogether and walk around with a defeatist expression.

All the same, Christmas parties frequently put people in debt  instead of being a time for fun and joy. If you have invited friends and family members over this Wednesday, confirm with them early if they are coming and how many other people they will be bringing along so that you can work with an exact figure. This is the first step in planning and cutting costs.

SIDE DISHES

In our Kenyan customs, often the host takes responsibility for the main course. This is often a slaughtered animal such as a sheep, goat or poultry and the accompanying side dishes. Some guests often bring gifts and leave behind some money to offset the cost and this is greatly welcome.

Where a host considers giving a liquor treat in addition to the meal, street wisdom has it that strong spirits are a bargain any day compared to beer and wines. The spirit can serve many people when diluted with water or fruit juice to make a punch.

Catering experts say it saves money to do the cooking yourself. But some families think that it is cool to outsource all the cooking and serving, raising an event’s bill astronomically.

BONDING WITH FRIENDS

But hired caterers often bring in their own utensils, public address and tents and chairs and charge you for it besides the main contract of providing food! Sharing out the party preparations duties with friends, family members and neighbours not only saves on the costs but also helps in bonding of friends after a long spell.

Catering experts advise that it saves money to pick the fruits and vegetables that are in season when preparing food. A recipe’s specifications can be altered, for example, by substituting rare tangerines and limes, with cheaper oranges which could be abundant in the local market.

By our Kenyan customs, the hosts often ask their guests to come much earlier before the main food is ready and this puts an extra cost of the refreshments they will be enjoying while waiting. Add several children and the budget will certainly rise.

Catering experts say that the timing of a party is crucial. Plan for an afternoon party to cut costs instead of inviting people as early as the morning tea and the main event later in the day.

BUFFET

According to several people who have hosted Christmas parties at their homes, the best way to serve guests is by the buffet method. This saves money by the fact that there is little wastage of food as people serve themselves only what they can finish.

Some hosts use a well-known hotel trick when serving their guests. They place the  salads and carbohydrates such as ugali, chapatis and potatoes at the beginning and the meats at the end of the buffet line.

The guests’ plates are normally full by the time they get to the choicer items like meat, saving on costs. If you place the meat first, chances are that it wouldn’t serve all round, raising the cost of providing extra.

Another hotel trick that is gaining popularity at home parties is to serve guests with tea and buttered bread, cake or bananas, a fairly cheap fare, before the main course when their number exceeds your expectations. Such guests are often too full to help themselves to much of the main course and it will suffice!

Christmas decorating can be costly if you buy them from the shop but there is an easier way. The key thing is to keep the decorations simple but be creative.