Top 10 Reasons to Entertain with a Picnic - Thrifty Thursday

Hosting a picnic is a wonderful frugal way to entertain that offers many advantages to the savvy host or hostess. With a little creative thinking, almost any meal or celebration can be turned into a picnic. After all, what was the first Thanksgiving?

I've hosted romantic picnics in idyllic settings, marathon-long beach parties, casual lunches and brunches for small groups and huge crowds, raucous tailgate parties, midnight stargazing rendezvous, and casual snacks consumed at highway rest areas during road trips. Regardless of the occasion, a picnic always makes the day a bit more festive and memorable.

So what are the advantages of turning your party, event, or even romantic dinner for two into a picnic? Let's count the ways:

1. You don't have to go crazy cleaning the house because no one will ever see the house.

2. Not only do you not have to clean your house, there will be no "day after" mess when the party is over.

3. Nothing at your home will get broken and the carpet won't get stained.

4. The neighbors can't complain if things get too loud.

5. You don't have to worry about how to get those last straggling guests to finally leave your house and go home.

6. If your space is too small to accommodate a large crowd of say 3 or more, the sky's the limit with a picnic. Just pick a park, beach, or other location that's as large as your guest list and go wild.

7. Picnics are a wonderful way to entertain when your home might be less than ideal , ie: you live with your mother, you live in a dorm, your 8 room mates own 12 Rottweilers, etc., etc.

8. No leftovers! One of the tips for successful picnics is to make enough so that everything gets eaten.

9. Don't forget travel. With picnics you can entertain anytime, anywhere. A picnic is a great way to thank hosts for their hospitality while traveling, or have an intimate romantic meal in an exotic setting. If you want to get romantic, nothing impresses like a picnic.

10. Picnics can save you money! It's generally cheaper to have a picnic than eat out in a restaurant, and a public park is certainly cheaper than a rented hall for a larger gathering. Picnics can also make for a cheap date that comes off as anything but.

Need Picnic Recipes?
Click here for the FabulousFoods.com archives of picnic recipes -- you'll find tons of creative recipes that are all easy to pack and tote along.

Thrifty Thursdays is a blog event created by my fried Amanda Formaro from Amanda's Cookin' blog. I've agreed to participate, so look for a frugal themed post here each Thursday. In addition to reading my posts, be sure to visit Amanda's blog for a round-up of all the thrifty home and cooking tips and recipes that came in this week from folks around the blogosphere.

New Years Ideas

This will be our last post before new years. I hope everyone had a fabulous Christmas and/or Hanukkah.

If you're still struggling with what to do and.or what to serve on New Years Eve, I have some suggestions.

Lucky Foods to Serve on New Years

All around the world people eat specific foods on New Year's Eve to bring good luck and good fortune in the upcoming year. We've compiled a round-up garnered from our editors' experiences as world travelers, as well as submissions from our readers. For your convenience, we've included recipe links where we have them.

If you know of other New Year's food traditions that we have not covered in these pages, please post them to the comments sections below. So whether or not you're superstitious, what could it hurt? Eat these foods on New Years Eve to insure that you and yours will have the best year ever!

Click here for the International Lucky New Years Eve Foods List.


New Years Eve Effigy Burning Party

Looking for a unique idea for your next New Year's Party? Here's an activity that makes for a memorable and meaningful experience and also gives your guests the chance to let their creativity shine. The effigy party has been an annual tradition at my New Year's celebrations for some time now and never fails to be a big hit, with children as well as adults.

Here's the theme of the party:
Each person invited is instructed to create and bring to the party an effigy to burn. The doll represents the negative energy/traits/emotions etc. that the person wants to be rid of in the coming year. Sort of like a New Year's resolution in reverse. Making the dolls gives the guests something to bring to the party and they make great conversation pieces while on display before the ceremonial burning. If you host this party year after year, you'll find guests really start getting into it and try to outdo each other from year to year.

The dolls (see photos this page and at the link below) can be made from all kinds of materials. For instance my doll from last year was made of bread dough and sugar frosting as I was trying to curb my carbohydrate addiction. My niece Tracy fashioned her doll out of empty Coca-Cola cans as she wanted to break this habit.

The effigy ceremony can be as whimsical or as serious as each guest chooses and sharing the meaning behind the doll is optional. Most do, but some keep it personal.

Once you know where the party will be hosted, and the limitations of your fire pit, you can better instruct or give effigy creating tips to your guests. For instance, if you have a small indoor fireplace, it is important for guests to bring small sized offerings and to limit themselves to natural materials. This is a good idea in general. Nothing can ruin a successful party atmosphere like the stench of burning toxic plastic fumes.

In past years we have also held this party on the beach with a large bonfire, in which case guests were encouraged to bring life-sized effigies (photo at right).

Intrigued? Click this link for more tips, suggestions and precautions for hosting this party, along with photos of past dolls burned by our guests.

Happy New Year and see you all in 2009!

Cheri