Make It Happen
Eight Weeks Before
- Recruit hosts for Dinners for 8 — be sure volunteers have enough room to seat eight people comfortably for dinner (including themselves in the count). Set a date for the dinners with the hosts.
- Explain that volunteering as a host means coordinating the meal with guests and offering hospitality.
- Let the hosts know what they should provide and what, if anything, the young adult ministry will provide.
- Send out an announcement about the event.
Four Weeks Before
- Circulate a sign-up sheet for the event (see Recommends section) and/or invite people to let you know via e-mail that they would like to attend.
- Confirm with all of your volunteer hosts that they are still available to host.
Two Weeks Before
- Take the list of people who have signed up and make it into lists of the eight people, who will go to dinner at each host’s home. You might want to mix people up so that they can make new friends. You might also decide on your groupings based on where people live. For example, everyone who lives in the Decatur neighborhood could attend a dinner in their neighborhood.
- Once you have the groupings set, e-mail the host with his/her list of guests and their e-mail or contact information. You might also put everyone on a group e-mail and identify the host and location of the dinner.
- Hosts can begin thinking about their dinner menu and what they might ask people to contribute. The details of “What to Bring” are totally up to the host. It would be good to suggest to hosts that they not carry the burden of making the entire meal, but could provide a main dish and maybe dessert. They can ask their guests to bring side dishes, bread, and beverages. Another idea: Ask everyone to bring their favorite pizza toppings and you provide the crust, sauce, and cheese. See more creative suggestions in the Ideas section.
One Week Before
- Hosts should e-mail their guests and ask about dietary restrictions and suggest what they would like guests to bring to the meal.
Day of Dinners for 8
- The host should send one final reminder to their guests and include their address and contact information.
- Have a wonderful time at dinner!
Ideas
- Get creative with your dinner menus. You might do a macaroni and cheese tasting where people bring different twists on the classic dish. If you are planning a dinner in the fall, a hearty homemade stew with fall vegetables might be nice. People might decorate their own desserts (think: cupcakes, cookies). Breakfast at dinner might be a nice treat! If you have a waffle iron, set up a waffle bar with lots of toppings and serve your waffles up with some scrambled eggs, hash browns, and orange juice.
- If one of your guests is vegetarian or vegan, consider making the entire meal veggie- or vegan-friendly. You can find some fabulous recipes here and here.
- If you have a food pantry at your church or in the community, you might invite guests to bring along a canned good that you’ll collect and donate.
Recommends
- Here’s a flyer to use to sign-up young adults for Dinners for 8 (PDF)
