Potluck Dinner Ideas

Potluck dinners are a meal in which all the guests bring a dish to share: It is an almost-guaranteed way of having a meal with diverse foods. They can also help initiate dinnertime conversation, because guests are usually interested in the food other people bring. Revolving the food around a theme or a favorite dish helps organize the dinner. Just remember to coordinate what everyone is bringing. Although most people like cake, make sure you do not end up with a meal of 10 cakes.

Ethnic Theme

Choose an ethnic theme for the meal to revolve around, such as Mexican or Chinese food. Ask everyone to bring a dish that is inspired by this theme. Set the table to reflect this theme to enhance the atmosphere. Find some ethnic music to play before or during dinner.

Movie Night

Select a movie to watch during or after the dinner. Tell everyone to bring a dish that is inspired by that movie.

Childhood Favorites

Create a theme around favorite childhood dishes. Lay a big piece of white paper across the table for people to draw on with crayons, and ask everyone to bring his favorite childhood dish.

Favorite Dishes

Ask everyone to bring her favorite dish and a copy of the recipe for everyone attending the dinner. Give everyone at the dinner a copy of the recipes for all the dishes. This will create a diverse dinner full of delicious food and a nice souvenir for your guests.

Special Ingredients

Ask your guests to include a specific ingredient in their dishes. Give all the guests the same ingredient, or tell them each to use a different one. This can lead to interesting variations on food using the ingredients. A staple ingredient, such as eggs, can easily be put into many dishes, but cinnamon can be more challenging to include in a main course.

Multicourse Meal

Organize the dinner around a five-course meal. Assign different courses to different people prior to the dinner. If you have more than five people attending the dinner, either have a few items for each course, or add courses to the meal.

Farmer's Market Night

Plan the meal for the night of the local farmer's market in your area. Instruct everyone to make his dish using ingredients from the local farmer's market. This will result in fresh dishes that include ingredients grown close to home.