Top four tips for entertaining on a budget (without looking like a cheapskate)

Welcome to Frugal Homemade! This week, we are going to talk about entertaining. Many of you may have gatherings to organize or at least participate in this upcoming Labor Day weekend. My family is also throwing a party next weekend, so I thought this would be a great opportunity for us to share our tips and tricks for having a great get-together without blowing the budget.

My husband and I have always loved to entertain, but we used to spend entirely too much money doing so. This was mostly because we didn’t stockpile, so any time we planned a party, I’d create a menu then we’d start from scratch and buy everything needed.

Now that I am a more strategic shopper, I know that planning the menu starts by looking around at what I have already, then looking to the ads or the season for inspiration, THEN choosing what to serve. I get started with these four steps:

1. Looking at what you already have in in the pantry or fridge.
2. Shopping in advance as much as possible.
3. Cherry picking from current deals that fit the event,
4. Not overspending on alcohol.

1 – Use what you have!

Look in your fridge, freezer, stockpile, and garden. You probably have a few great ingredients that can be the start of some perfect party fare.

I am probably not the only one with these hot dogs on hand, right? Well, these were $1.00 a pack at Jewel not long ago and I was happy to find packages dated 9/13. My family eats hot dogs only occasionally, so I assumed we might eat one pack and freeze the rest. But having them at the party is a much better use.

These will be great to feed the kids with typical kid-friendly toppings, but we will also put together a Chicago-style dog bar so that the adults might enjoy them as well. I have pickle spears, mustard, sport peppers, onions and celery salt in the fridge/pantry/stockpile and tomatoes in the garden. I’ll just have to get poppy buns and relish in the proper shade of green! And poppy buns are $.99 at Jewel this week, so before the sale ends on Tuesday, I will pick those up. I am planning to cook the dogs then keep them warm in my large slow cooker so these can be available for people to eat as they want.

2 – Start party shopping in advance.

As soon as you know you have an entertaining need, start looking at the ads and shopping with the event in mind.

I picked up these containers of fresh mozzarella “pearls” 2/$6.00 at Meijer the other day and used my last $3.00/2 printable. $1.50 each is a good price for these and they will be really impressive to my guests in a chopped Caprese salad, which will also take advantage of the tomatoes and basil in my garden.

These carrots were less than net $.25 a bag, also at Meijer last week. In my experience, carrots are always the most popular member of the veggie tray. I will pick up celery, peppers, radishes, etc. to make sure it is colorful, but I will have these on hand to refill as needed.

3 – Cherry pick the current deals to save yourself time and money.

I am planning on going to Meijer for some non-party things tomorrow, so I checked the ad for anything I might be able to get in advance for the party.

While I prefer to make most of the food my family eats from scratch, it isn’t always possible to do so for a big party. The Heluva Good dip will be $.24 at Meijer after the $.75/1 in the 6/29 SS, so that will be an easy and cheap shortcut. We don’t typically buy bottled water, but for a party, it is a good idea and $2.50 a case isn’t bad at all.

The above deals are at Caputo’s, where I am already planning to shop for our regular produce needs, so again, I looked for anything I can add on for the party.

We tend not to go for the cheapest beer, so obviously you can do better than $9.99 for a 12-pack, but this Shock Top tends to be popular and it is a nice summer-friendly option so I will pick up some of that. I should be able to get away with getting a watermelon on Tuesday, but before I do, I will check next week’s ads to see if I can put it off.

4 – Don’t worry about adult beverages too much!

People will drink what is available and what is easiest. Even if you set up a full bar, unless someone is manning it, people will still generally go for what what is pre-made, wine, or beer. So if you have liquor on hand, use it to make punch, a big pitcher of vodka lemonade, margaritas, or whatever goes with your theme. Usually once a year, I do a Smirnoff vodka rebate deal where the bottles are as low as net $2 each. Unfortunately, you need quite a bit of foresight for that one, but if you have it on hand, liquor drinks are substantially cheaper per drink than wine or beer even after you factor in the mixers.

As far as wine, Binny’s isn’t bad, but I actually find the best deals to be at Jewel when you combine a sale price and the 10% 6+ bottle discount. I find you can usually get the most for your money this way. And if you can find coupons and/or rebates, even better!

So use what you have, buy what fits in your budget, and people will be happy.

What are YOUR best tips for keeping your guests happy without breaking the bank?

In the next week or so, I will collect my favorite reader tips and share more specific plans for pulling off an impressive party on the cheap!

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Be sure to check back each week for something new! I will be bringing you how-tos, advice, and articles on everything pertaining to easy frugal living: From DIY, to recipes, to practical tips and tricks. To help balance out the couponing and deal chasing we do a lot of here, I’ll talk about easy ways to incorporate frugality into everyday life and to do more from scratch.