Holiday Entertaining on the Cheap, Inexpensive Ways to Entertain for t...

Holiday Entertaining on the Cheap

Brunches potlucks are frugal ways to be festive

The cost of holiday entertaining can really add up—from having a festive dinner with friends to hosting the office holiday party. A New Year's Eve extravaganza can also be an expensive gathering. I'm not convinced that how much we spend on entertaining—at the holidays or otherwise—always translates into how much fun we have or the quality of the memories we share. Sometimes simpler is better. Given the current economic times, my wife and I are proposing and "progressive dinners" (where everyone hosts the group for just a single course of the meal) this year, so that a single household doesn't have to shoulder the whole financial burden. We've also decided to have a New Year's Day brunches rather than the New Year's Eve parties we've thrown for years. Breakfast foods are generally less expensive fare and people won't expect alcohol to be served. So this holiday season try out some new economically minded holiday-entertaining traditions. Some friends of ours held their first old-fashioned caroling party for the neighborhood last year—in lieu of the costly cocktail party they'd hosted for years. We all agreed that we had a blast, even though none of us got "blasted" on eggnog. Have fun, but keep it frugal!
Jeff Yeager is the author of the book, His Web site is . Cancel You are leaving AARP.org and going to the website of our trusted provider. The provider’s terms, conditions and policies apply. Please return to AARP.org to learn more about other benefits. Your email address is now confirmed. You'll start receiving the latest news, benefits, events, and programs related to AARP's mission to empower people to choose how they live as they age. You can also by updating your account at anytime. You will be asked to register or log in. Cancel Offer Details Disclosures

Close In the next 24 hours, you will receive an email to confirm your subscription to receive emails related to AARP volunteering. Once you confirm that subscription, you will regularly receive communications related to AARP volunteering. In the meantime, please feel free to search for ways to make a difference in your community at Javascript must be enabled to use this site. Please enable Javascript in your browser and try again.