Rosa, thank you for posting your question here and during the Live Q&A on Facebook today! Here are the answers from our discussion earlier -
- This year we are bringing our food plus and we will all eating everybody’s food.
- I think it adds to the fun. Especially if they use popular family recipes.
- I agree, pot luck dinners can go a long way cutting down expenses. In addition folks tend to bring what they like to eat. That means a lot more happy faces. Food is love.
- No. A family reunion is not just one person's responsibility. I think everyone makes an effort to make it a success and hey, if all the family member has to do is bring a side dish or a dessert - I say sign me up! ;)
- How you present the idea makes all the difference. It can really add to the fun if you present it with a fun theme or something.
- I think that's a tough one. The host location always gets stuck with getting all that food set up, etc. Last time those that did the food missed out on the activities because they were busy in the kitchen. We had our picnic catered. No one had to worry about the setup or cleanup. It was perfect.
- I don't believe it is tacky. Our upcoming reunion is being held at a park and we have invited the locals to bring side dishes/fruit to the BBQ/picnic. For me, it's a "family" reunion and everyone should be included.
- At our reunions everyone brings something to eat and then we all share
- We started an annual goodie bake off and winner gets a prize. We never have to worry about goodies now. This might work on sides also.
No hunni.....trust me, if only a few people are contributing to the reunion with food and games and entertainment, you will run out of food. People should be happy to bring a side dish....and anything else.
Mar 17, 2012
side dishes?NEW by: Anonymous
nope -- they should be asked to contribute ANY dish. Meat, side, dessert, bread, etc. When we send out the flyers 3 mo ahead (in Mar for June date), it states "covered dish dinner at noon". No guessing. Those traveling from out of state stop at a deli or KFC, etc. so everyone contributes. The host family (my mom's family) has enough to do without fixing all the dishes.
