The Email
- Outline
- Options
- send it on tuesday of the week
SUBJECT: Saturday Dinner DATE - Theme
Dinner: Roasted Chicken
Sides: Garlic bread, mashed potatoes, green beans, cornbread
Dessert: Pie
We always have chicken fingers in the freezer. If you come and the food isn’t something you are up for, we will gladly make them for you.
If you have any dietary restrictions let us know.
Tap List: Kicked and waiting for the brewing company! Please enjoy one of our wide ranging variety of bottled beverages or a mixed drink. Note: This may change between when you receive this message and when you arrive at our home.
Upcoming Saturday Dinners:
Our house is at
Pittsburgh traffic is the worst. Please check your GPS to see if you need to take an alternate route to avoid being stuck in traffic. If you have any questions about where we live or get lost, please call. Parking is on the street.
If you are coming, reply to this email by the Friday before the dinner at 6:00 p.m., otherwise, ignore it. If you commit and then can’t make it, let us know ASAP.
You are welcome to bring a dessert, side, or drink - but this is completely optional, don’t feel pressured to bring anything. Please don’t bring your pets or kids. Our house is not set up with them in mind.
We try to be ready to host around 5:00 and have dinner at 6:00. After dinner we hang out, it’s very casual. We play games, watch movies, or just talk. Everyone leaves by 10:00. There is an excellent bar down the street you can go to if you want to keep hanging out after dinner’s over.
If you are too inebriated or tired to drive, you can always stay here on an air mattress. We have everything ready for you and will make breakfast in the morning.
If for whatever reason you don’t want to get these emails let us know. There will be no hard feelings. If there is anyone that you think would be a good fit for future dinners let us know, we’ll talk it over and get in touch.
The People
- really question if they’ll add to the event
- more on list is good 70 n list = 5 at dinner
- prepare for a varitey of attendece intors
The Theme
- eases participation
- coherent planning
- encourages attendance
Example Theme Holiday Gift Exchange
It’s officially Holiday Time. For some people, that means food, for others gifts, but for us it means showing our appreciation and gratitude to the people in our community - YOU! It also means not taking ourselves too seriously (like always). We want to combine these elements into a melange of celebration and thank you for being part of our lives this year.
The other thing Holiday Time brings is unwanted presents and ferocious cleaning - which are both highly conducive to THE GIFT GAME! This was a ton of fun last year, so we’re going to do it again!
In order to do this, you need to read the rules below and either bring a gift or let Kayte know to wrap one of her random items for you.
Post-Holidays Gift Exchange Madness Game!
The goal of this game is to possibly get rid of something you don’t want and get something you might want.
Rules:
You must either:
-
Bring a wrapped item you want to give away (an unwanted gift, something you’ve finished with, etc). DO NOT SPEND MONEY! This can be as silly as you want, but nothing sexist/racist/homophobic/fatphobic or literally useless or broken.
-
Let Kayte know BY FRIDAY AT 6PM if you won’t be bringing an item so she can put one out for you. (Kayte has a TON of random things to give away.)
-
We will draw numbers to determine turn order and sit around the pile of gifts.
The first player selects a gift from the pile, opens it, and shows it to everyone.
The next player (and every player after that) can choose:
pick an unwrapped gift from the pile, open it, show it to everyone, hold it
steal a previous player’s gift
Anyone who has their gift stolen can do the same - pick a new gift from the pile or steal a gift.
Limits on stealing:
A present can only be stolen once per turn, which means players who have a gift stolen must wait to get it back.
After 3 swaps, the turn automatically comes to an end and we go to the next number.
After all players have had a turn, the first player gets a chance to swap the gift they are holding for any other gift.
From here out, anyone whose gift is stolen from here out may steal from someone else, as long as that person hasn’t been stolen from yet. The three swap rule ceases to apply.
When someone declines to steal a gift, the game ends.
The Menu
- nutritious
- stunt meat
- try early familiar list
- chicken in freezer
- cold drinks
- coffee
- slow cookers and Instant pots
The Amenities
- tablecloth
- fat friendly chairs
- music
- leftovers
- 2drunk? stay over
- ac
The Activities
- Games
- tv
- opinions
The Stress
- assigning friends jobs
- get delivery
- keep setup if you can
- budget for more than you think
- if you can get a dishwasher
- people wait
The Point
- share bounty
- connect with friends
- foster community
- use your house
- meatspace contact
The Lessons Learned
- vacuum
- pack leftovers lunch style
- people want to be in the kitchen
- it gets hot
The Good Guest Habits
- spark interesting conversations
- tells stories
- moves people away from the kitchen
- wants to do activities
