Creative Entertaining: How to Host a Stone Soup Party

You probably have heard the story. A hungry traveler comes across a poor town in the dead of winter. He knocks on doors begging for food, but the poor residents all refuse him. In the center of town he builds a fire, pulls out a pot and fills it with snow, sets it over the fire to melt, and throws in a stone. Curious villagers come by to see what he's doing. He tells them he's making stone soup, and that it would taste better, if only it had some onions. A villager agrees to give him onions if he shares the soup. More villagers come in turn, and the traveler tells them how much better it would be with some spices, some chicken bones, some potatoes. Each of the villagers offer a bit of their food stores for a taste of the soup. At the end of the story, everyone feasts on the meal they all helped to create. It's a timeless tale of the benefits of communities coming together to share.

Taking from this old fairytale, a Stone Soup party is a fun way to bring people together. An especially good reason for hosting a Stone Soup party is when you move to a new community and want to get to know your neighbors, or if you are part of a new group of people getting to know each other. It's a pot luck party with a twist, that can be a very inexpensive means of entertaining.

To hold a Stone Soup party, begin with invitations. You can purchase invitations, or you can make your own, featuring a picture of a steaming pot of soup. Explain to the guests you are inviting that they should bring something to contribute to the soup. This can be fresh, canned or frozen vegetables, a large can of any kind of broth, pasta, noodles, rice, their favorite seasonings, or boneless meat cubed into bite-sized pieces.

As host, you can provide things such as bread, Parmesan cheese, crackers and other such soup accompaniments, as well as beverages such as soft drinks or wine. The only other thing you need is a big pot on the stove and a few cooking utensils. If you're not very confident with your cooking abilities, it pays to have someone who is a fairly competent cook around to help you out. Someone who can judge measurements of ingredients so that there isn't an overpowering flavor, or too little liquid, or to judge when ingredients should go in so that one type won't turn to mush before another type is cooked through.

As your guests arrive with their ingredients, take them and quickly chop, open, or prepare them in whatever way they need to be prepared and add them to the pot. Alternately, you can invite your friends into the kitchen to put their own ingredients into the pot.

Invite your friends to have a beverage while you let the soup simmer until all the ingredients cook through. If children are present, tell them the story of Stone Soup.

When dinner is ready, you can serve each guest a big bowl, or set up a buffet table for them. Toast to friendship and enjoy.