Themes for Potluck Dinners

A potluck with all Asian food is an example of an ethnic-themed meal.

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Unlike traditional dinner parties, potlucks require each guest to bring at least one dish, which means that the menu is always new and unexpected. These meals can be a good way to share the work and your favorite recipes with others, however, without structure, they can become a hodgepodge of unrelated dishes. Introduce a theme to your dinner to give your potluck a common purpose. Common ideas to spark your imagination include ethnic, historical, seasonal and literary potluck dinners.

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Choose a country, continent or ethnic group and ask your guests to bring a cultural dish. This kind of potluck works well if you have regularly scheduled meals with the same group, allowing you to pick a different culture each meal. Broaden your menu to include American-style ethnic cuisine, such as chop suey and frozen burritos, or narrow it to include only foods made with traditional ingredients and styles of preparation. For an added touch, modify your dining style to match that of the represented culture, including table service and manners. Another alternative is to ask each guest to bring a dish representing a cultural heritage and enjoy the mix of ethnic flavors.

Historical

Choose a time period, such as the Civil War era or the 1920s and assign each of your guests the task of researching and preparing a period dish. Try unusual foods, such as roasted hog's head and pheasant from the Medieval period, or appreciating your grandparents' sacrifices in a new way as you eat food with ingredients rationed during World War II. Host a potluck that centers around a historical event, such as the first Thanksgiving or the founding of your city.

Seasonal

Potlucks can be a good way to celebrate the change in weather with an assortment of your favorite seasonal flavors. Ask everyone to bring a pumpkin or cranberry dish to celebrate fall, their favorite soup or cold-weather comfort food to welcome winter and a flower-themed food when spring comes again. Since many potlucks take place during the summer, ask your friends to bring a non-traditional dish to pass around during summer potlucks -- no potato salad, noodle salad, fried chicken or jellos allowed. Mix up the holidays, such as celebrating with your favorite Christmas treats in July or hot dogs and hamburgers in January.

Literary

If your guests enjoy reading, ask them to prepare a dish described in a favorite book. This is a good way to combine ethnic, historical and seasonal potlucks into one. If several people are reading the same work of literature, consider adding dishes that the author was known to enjoy or that he may have eaten regularly during his time period or in his native country. Prepare foods reflecting the book's theme or genre, such as dishes with secret ingredients for a mystery novel or a kosher meal for a story that takes place in WWII Germany.

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