Company hosted Potluck - update 12/19

[sasywtch]

We had the issue of everyone bringing the same thing, so they began doing a sign up sheet on the page of our employee website. They listed main dish, side, dessert They would put a line so you could put what type you were bringing so others would know. Even though we said it was a company potluck, we all knew that meant employees spend extra time for lunch day, getting stuffed and that we would be bringing a dish. It was more of a break of the normal routine to boost morale and not so much what the company was providing. My easy main dish was in a crockpot that can be simmered during the day at work. Large fat noodles, spaghetti type sauce with meat, onions, green pepper, olives. Kinda of like a spaghetti/goulash. Someone who doesn't cook can bring shredded cheese. That was listed on our list when I put goulash as my dish. I've also done pasta salad that many liked and easy. Noodles, onion, black olives, tomatoes, cucumber, blanched broccoli and Italian dressing.

 

[EveDallas]

After a couple years of having no Holiday Party we are planning to have a Potluck the Friday before Christmas.

We are asking employees to sign up to bring a dish to share. The company (a local Brewery) will be providing beer & soft drinks, as well as paper plates, plasticware, napkins, etc. What if anything else should we provide?

This is the first time I have been in charge of a potluck so I am not sure what is expected or not.

Be prepared for a ton of chips and desserts. Happens at every company potluck.

 

[CynBeth]

I do not know the size of your company and the personalities involved but when either our department or the company as a whole does a pot luck it usually ends up where a small group pitches in together for something which is usually pizzas, a deli/sandwich tray, some type of pasta tray, or Chik Fil A, etc.

 

[sam_gordon]

We have an annual potluck the Friday before Thanksgiving. The company provides:
Drinks
Plates
Plasticware
Turkey (catered)
Ham (catered)
Stuffing (catered)
Mashed Potatos (catered)

Everyone else brings a side or dessert (with a sign up ahead of time so things don't get duplicated). Yes, people will bring chips or store bought cookies, but many people will home cook something. Those who don't want to cook are encouraged (not required) to pay $10.

Not a lot of work gets done after the meal. lol

FWIW, we also have an "employee appreciation party" in February where the company rents out a banquet room with a full catered buffet, open bar, live music, door prizes, and recognition of those celebrating work anniversaries (10 years, 15, 20, 25, etc).

 

[leebee]

@disneychrista, if you are "in charge" maybe you should poll your staff. Check out what it would cost to have the party catered, or for you (sorry) to get party sandwich platters or pizza and then take a poll. Would they like to pay ($5 each? $10 each? for XYZ) and bring sides/desserts, or would they like to do a "real" potluck and bring main dishes? If you are doing a any kind of potluck (even just sides/desserts), I'd suggest making a sign-up sheet. Determine how many of which items you need and specify this ON THE SIGN UP SHEET so that you don't have 87 bags of chips and one casserole dish! I've actually gone as far as listing the items we need and asking people to sign up for the specific items (but that was a situation in which I knew everyone personally and didn't offend- they were just happy that I was feeding their kids and they didn't have to provide a day's worth of food). Good luck, and remember: There is always going to be someone who thinks you did it the wrong way, so don't take it to heart. Do the best you can to make it into the party you think it should be (based on the above) and go with it... and keep the beer flowing!

 

[wgeo]

Maybe I've just been lucky, but I've never been to a potluck where everyone just bought chips. I think we'd all be embarrased to just be bringing chips. I don't think a potluck is "cheaping" out, if that's what you can do, it's what you can do. If you want to make sure there is a main dish, either put out a sign up sheet with different categories, or bring a crock pot full of sloppy joes or chili. Lots of stuff is cheap and feeds a large group. The point is to hang out and have fun - you don't have to spend a lot of money to do that.

 

[morgan98]

People are going to bring sides, rolls, chips, soda and some homemade dishes. People go to a wide variety of effort in terms of that they bring.

For a main have you considered a Honey Baked Ham or Turkey? They are presliced and do not have to be served hot.

I understand being on a budget, but not providing at least something looks cheap and to make it nice there should at least be some "real" food to eat.

We have a potluck for the holidays in our office too. (we are about 185 people for reference and not all participate) and the Company provides the meat. People do make an effort and it is an appreciated event. However, we also have a Saturday night bring your spouse with an open bar party as well.

 

[Frozen Canuck]

Many times that we have done potlucks, the groups tend to get split in half or thirds based on last name. The first half of the alphabet brings a main or side dish and the other half brings a side or dessert. YMMV, as some people might get "stuck" bringing something that isn't their forte. If they are great at making pies, but are stuck bringing a main dish, they might not be happy. The option is always there for them to trade with someone if they want, but the key is that you want to ensure variety in what people bring so you don't end up with a whole bunch of desserts and not much else.

As far as other items go...

• Serving spoons and tongs...lots of people will bring a dish, but forget a knife to cut the cake or a spoon to scoop the macaroni and cheese out. It is nearly impossible to serve foods with cheap plastic cutlery used for eating the meal with. You can pick up heavy duty plastic serving spoons if you are worried about losing real ones.
• Adequate table space for holding the dishes as they arrive and possibly extension cords if some people bring their offering in a crockpot to keep it warm.
• Table cloths...plastic or otherwise. It just gives you a clean area for serving the food and an easy way to clean up the spills at the end.
• Zip-top bags, foil, or plastic wrap...not a necessity, but sometimes it facilitates in taking leftovers home. It isn't uncommon for people to bring in a foil-wrapped dish, but then the foil gets tossed when it is served. Anything leftover at the end would be left uncovered.
• Sharpie marker...having plastic cups is great, but I always set out a few sharpie markers so people can label their cup and not have it get lost in a sea of red solo cups.
• Ice, if needed for drinks and/or large tubs of chilled drinks and sodas.
• Condiments...depends upon what is being served, but at the bare minimum, salt and pepper and maybe butter if there are buns or whatever. The company could perhaps supply some dinner rolls, which make a good side and give the more selective eaters something plain to graze on.
• masking tape if people want to label their dishes with their names or even just label what the dishes are. If you have anyone with food sensitivities, you can even make stand-up cards to indicate what "safe" foods are available.
• Trash...make sure you have ample, lined trash bins available and a place for people to put their recycling if you are serving beverages from containers.
• Decorations, music, games, or whatever else will add to the atmosphere and make things fun and memorable.

Enjoy your party!

 

[DisneyHardin]

I am a teacher and we do LOTS of potlucks at our school. The school had no budget for things like this, so everything is provided by us. For mains we usually have pulled pork bbq, chili, soup, etc. The way we ensure that we have a good variety is the secretary assigns different things - for us, being a school, it is is easy - for example 1st grade teachers bring desert, 5th grade teachers bring mains, 3rd grade teachers bring drinks, etc.

 

[jaybirdsmommy]

How many people are coming? Could the company provide a couple of hams and some rolls/cheese tray then let everyone else bring sides and desserts?

The big problem that I have with potlucks these days is that they aren't nearly as common as they used to be and younger people just don't understand how they work - ie how much food to bring, what to bring, etc.

We do potlucks for scouting events about twice a year and the same thing happens every time. Even assigning sides vs desserts by the first letter of the last name we still end up with tons of chips and packaged cookies and very little else. Quantity is an issue also, they give the guidance that you should bring enough for your family plus 1 more which means that families of 6 will show up with one small size bag of chips, a quart size casserole dish of whatever, 6 cookies, etc. We usually run out of food before half the people make it through the line.

We also do a big potluck here at work for thanksgiving. The company provides the turkeys which get fried on the loading dock then everyone else brings sides and desserts. Same problem here, lots of years we are out of food before we are out of people. But at least there is plenty of turkey so everyone gets something to eat.

 

[ronandannette]

No one is FORCING you to attend. Thankfully, we are not that type of company, where if you don't show it will look bad for you. So just count yourself as being uninvited.

Hi @disneychrista. I'm curious as to how this event is being received by the employees. Are many of them excited for it? I must say I agree with @TipsyTraveler that often work events can become nothing but an imposition if management arbitrarily decides something will be fun without actually asking the staff. If everybody is of goodwill and looking forward to it, your plan sounds fine. If not, well, although I understand corporate austerity, your company's efforts seem a little weak in the "thank you for another successful year" department.

And what's the plan for the rest of the afternoon if everybody gets buzzed off the free beer?

 

[piglet1979]

I think I’ve been spoiled at my work! Lol! We do potlucks every other month or so with a sign up sheet and sometimes a theme. Tomorrow is our thanksgiving one. We will have turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, rolls, desserts, etc. Work supplies the plates, silverware, and napkins. We bring the food. We are a small agency of 16 women and take our potlucks seriously

We used to be like this. Our HR and CEO have changed so we don't really do then any more. I miss it though.

When we had them we always put up a signup sheet with Main Dish, side dish and such and we would sign up for what we wanted to bring. We didn't always have a "Main Dish" but we would have meatballs, a cheese/ground meat dip thing. So more like appetizers but more then enough to fill us up. We did have some chips and store bought stuff too. But with the sign up sheet it eliminated the amount of that.

 

[undertheradar]

Perhaps people could combine money and get something like 6 foot subs from Walmart or the local grocery? These feed many and are very low cost.

 

[Allison]

so they began doing a sign up sheet on the page of our employee website. They listed main dish, side, dessert They would put a line so you could put what type you were bringing so others would know. Even though we said it was a company potluck, we all knew that meant employees spend extra time for lunch day, getting stuffed and that we would be bringing a dish. It was more of a break of the normal routine to boost morale and not so much what the company was providing.

Exactly this.

 

[jaiminee krikit]

At my last job, we would do potlucks all the time. I loved them! We would have sign-up sheets like others have mentioned, to avoid having all desserts or all appetizers. We would even have some people sign up to bring plates, napkins, and cups. We always had an over abundance of food, and never had any "main" dishes (turkey, ham, etc.) Usually someone would just so happen to make sloppy joes or ham salad or something else to put on a roll (they would bring the rolls/bread, too). We would also have someone who always just grabbed chips and salsa at the store on their way into work, but usually that was the first thing gone. I loved it when one of the women would "make" pasta salad that we all knew she picked up at a local restaurant and tried to pass it off as her own.

I definitely do not think you are being cheap by doing this. You're providing beverages already, and that can't be too cheap (especially providing beer). I think it's nice that you're doing anything at all and your employees will appreciate that. Oh how I miss those potlucks!

 

[AndreaDM]

Definitely supply either a ham, turkey or sandwich platter. Employees will bring sides and dessert. You need a main dish and it's not fair to expect one single employee to bring in a turkey for the whole staff. I would do a sign up sheet as well, just general, but you don't want to end up with 10 veggie trays and no desserts.

 

[disneychrista]

Thanks everyone for the input.

A few answers/clarifications, more information.

1. The event will be held after work hours (5pm - 9ish), at our company Ale House. So getting smashed and heading back to work isn't an issue.
   
2. The event has not been widely announced, the few that do know about it have said a potluck, where the employees each bring something is fine and those that would attend would likely do so. My boss & I will be discussing/finalizing details by the end of the week and announcing after Thanksgiving.
   
3. A sign up sheet will be put up along with the announcement, asking employees to sign up to bring something. We will take inventory of what is being signed up for and fill in the the blanks.
4. There are 25 local employees, 15 - 20 are likely to attend along with their spouses and possibly a few kids.
   
5. As previously stated I am prepared to provide Spaghetti, Meatballs, Salad & Rolls. As well as Beer (after all we are a Craft Brewery) and Soft Drinks.
6. Collecting money from employees is not an option.
7. No one is going to be required or expected to show up. Personally I have always hated these types of events. But now as the Ale House Manager I get to host them, yay me!

 

[Wishing on a star]

We haven't had a party the last few years because of the cost. We want to do something but If we can't do it inexpensively, it is like we won't do it at all.

Yep.... I agree an above poster.... either do it right, or don't do it at all.

Somehow manage to bring in food for an event, in the evening, at the end of a work-day, on unpaid personal time.
Doesn't sound like a winner to me.

It is possible that you are going to get a number of people who don't really cook, don't really care, etc... You are going to end up with a table of cheap dollar store chips, cookies, and 2 liter toxic kool-aide soda, etc...

People are maxed out on time, energy, and money at this time of year.

Why can't a brewery at least cover some nice sandwich and snack trays?

 

[princesspiglet]

My company has a holiday potluck every December and I am in charge of planning it. The company provides all the paper products, drinks and good deli sandwiches from a local restaurant. The employees bring whatever they want and we have a sign up sheet starting a month before. Last year we had so much food left over that we invited the building next to ours to come over and eat with us! Our employees really look forward to it and we get plenty of good quality homemade food ranging from cocktail meatballs, mac and cheese and buff chix dip to a 3 layer cake and a chocolate fountain with tons of dipping items!

 

[soccerdad72]

I might do a couple lasagnas along with, like others said, ham or turkey. You could pick up a couple of those family-sized Stouffer's lasagnas pretty reasonably.