Should I buy food at a friend's party?

Mojisola

thriftymanc wrote: »

I feel like an idiot now, I always thought these were real questions sent to the team by email or something by people who wanted to stay anonymous or just not wanting to sign up to the forum themselves... why on earth do the staff make these things up?!

They used to be. I remember reading and adding to the original threads before the subject appeared as 'today's dilemma'.

pennypinchUK

Doesn't sound much of a friend to me. I'm sure there's something on telly that evening....

joannie

Hi, I was once asked to a friends for a pizza and then charged for it!!! Ex friend very quickly. No don't go, it is so wrong to invite people then expect them to cough up.

Hermia

joannie wrote: »

Hi, I was once asked to a friends for a pizza and then charged for it!!! Ex friend very quickly. No don't go, it is so wrong to invite people then expect them to cough up.

Indeed. If the host is a bit skint why does he/she not just suggest a restaurant and then choose an affordable one. At least then the guests can CHOOSE what dish they pay for. If you charge people for food you would need to make sure your cooking is perfect. Your paying guests aren't going to be as understanding as usual if you overcooked something or made a mistake!

BoJangles_2

I think people are going a bit overboard here. This is not uncommon in other countries and if somebody wants to host a quality dinner party (not bbq ie sausage and barm) then I think it is a good idea. Nobody feels obliged to return any favours.

tallgirld

Tell him to get lost! I wouldn't even attend the party to be honest. It's not about the money for me it just sounds like he's taking the mick.

If on the other hand he is going to donate the money to charity then I could work with that. Suppose the "signature dish" tastes terrible will there be refunds?

BoJangles_2

tallgirld wrote: »

Tell him to get lost! I wouldn't even attend the party to be honest. It's not about the money for me it just sounds like he's taking the mick.

If on the other hand he is going to donate the money to charity then I could work with that. Suppose the "signature dish" tastes terrible will there be refunds?

Of course it is about the money....if it wasn't nobody on here would have an issue...

rachiibell

susan1 wrote: »

Reminds me of the time my son was invited to Christmas dinner at a friends. They had a 3 course meal which was very good. On the way out, leaving for home he was asked to contribute £20 towards the meal. (not mentioned at all previously!!)

:eek::eek::eek: Now that's rude!

haras_nosirrah

we host an annual bbq for our friends and family (will be this sunday so praying for nice weather) and we do a bring a dish as this year we have 40 adults and 10 kids so is really just to share the cost.

generally people spend about £5 on their item and I divvy up the bits e.g.
laura - something chicken related
louise - pasta and potato salad
meghan - bread rolls etc

that way we don't get duplicates. My husband and I buy a bit of everything to start off and as people turn up they add in their item so we end up with lots of different foods. This year we have spent over£100 including alcohol, meat etc so we pay for the vast majority of it.

When doing the invites I put the tag line - bring your partner, bring your kids, bring a dish, bring your appetite and have never had any complaints (this is the 4th year). We do make it into quite an event and have a bouncy castle this year for the littlies.

slightly worried now that they are all a bit secretly cheesed off with bringing something or is what we have done socially acceptable as they were told upfront?

Mojisola

haras_nosirrah wrote: »

When doing the invites I put the tag line - bring your partner, bring your kids, bring a dish, bring your appetite and have never had any complaints (this is the 4th year). We do make it into quite an event and have a bouncy castle this year for the littlies.

slightly worried now that they are all a bit secretly cheesed off with bringing something or is what we have done socially acceptable as they were told upfront?

Perfectly acceptable. We have a group who meet up socially and we do the same.

Everyone knows upfront what they are agreeing to and we all enjoy sharing what everyone else has brought.

If you invited people to your BBQ and then held out your hand as they arrived for a payment per head that hadn't been mentioned in advance, your guests probably wouldn't be happy.