Finally the server is back up and running and I can post!
I thought for this mornings post I would discuss something that drives me insane, the Potluck.
Now as an Italian Housewife we are known for our hosting and hospitality. When you come over to our house for dinner it is an insult to us if you help us in the kitchen or clear the table, only because we take pride in doing everything that is concerned with hosting a dinner ourselves. You are our guests and there is no need for you to do any of the work! We enjoy making all of the courses and all of the food and serving them to you almost as if you are in a restaurant. The thought of you bringing your own food is appalling. Here in lies our hatred for the potluck.
This hatred I have for potlucks most likely stems from my Mothers hatred of the potluck. Her mentality is, why should you have to prepare all this food for your family, only to pack it up and take it somewhere else, when you could just sit and home and eat it like normal people, with less hassle and less mess. This I totally agree with.
Now there are only a few circumstances where I feel a potluck is an OK idea.
- When you get a group of friends together and say HEY! lets have a picnic and BBQ some stuff and bring some chips and dip. – Simple enough, enjoyable, and the potluck is mentioned upfront.
- When you and your friends decided that you would like to do a dinner party with a theme, say Greek Food, and you split up the menu so everything bring something Greek, that way you can try lots of different things. – Organize between friends and everyone knows what they need to do.
- When you and your friends or family decided to do a holiday dinner together and everyone is told what they can bring and the work is shared. – Leaves the guessing game out of it and it is organized together.
These three example are situation in which I have NO problem participating in a potluck, mainly because the idea of the potluck is the reason for the get together, it is simple, organized, and everyone is told what to bring upfront. These are the only reasons I would not be in a rage about a potluck.
But here is why I hate potlucks.
This situation seems to happen over and over again to me and I can not stand it.
You are invited over to someones house for dinner or a party or something and they give you all the info. This date, this time, yadda, yadda. So you say Hey! I would LOVE to come over to your house for a Birthday party! Sounds great! Then, you get an email the week before the party that says, Oh Hey, forgot to tell you that the party is a potluck, so you have to bring something.
Insert Rage.
Here is why…
- If you are going to have a potluck make it UPFRONT so that people aren’t scrambling at the last minute.
- Split the menu up and TELL people what to bring, otherwise you end up with 10 appys, 2 salads, and no main dishes.
- I actually find it insulting that you are throwing a birthday party for yourself and are asking all your guests to supply the food. Never in my life would I EXPECT my guests to bring food. The only time guests bring food to my house is when we throw our annual Christmas party and I supply all the food, but some people like to bring a dish themselves to help out. I NEVER ask anyone to bring anything.
The bottom line is, if you want to have a potluck, make that the reason for the gathering. ‘Thanksgiving Potluck’ or ‘Picnic Potluck in the Park’. Don’t invite people over to your house, where they expect that you are supplying food, hence you inviting people over to your house, and then spring it on them that they need to bring something. That is just rude and inconsiderate. Does it really take that much effort to buy a couple bags of chips, some dip, and some appys at Costco?
In the end, I think the idea of a Potluck is just a very ‘mangiacake‘ kind of thing. Italians would never dream of having their guests bring anything to their house or their party. It may work for some but it doesn’t not work for me. My culture would hate me for it.
