Holiday Entertaining on a Budget

The holiday season is a festive and fun time to entertain and catch up with friends and family. However, it can be a challenge to entertain when you are on a tight budget. The cost of food and beverages seems to be rising as quickly as gas prices and there are still those Christmas presents to buy. Here are a few tips that will hopefully make it possible for you to entertain on a budget.

Think informal. You don't have to have a multi-course sit-down dinner for people to feel like they're at a great party. The holidays are all about appetizers, buffets and casual, tasty food and beverages that enhance the occasion, not rule it. Bruschetta is a very inexpensive appetizer made with sliced French or Italian bread and your choice of toppings. It's also easy to make and you can make up a giant batch and set out platters in different sections of your home. You could also make up two or three pans of cheese or Margherita pizzas on rectangular baking sheets and cut them into appetizer sized squares. The ingredients are inexpensive and everyone loves pizza.

Think casseroles. Big casseroles such as lasagna, enchiladas, or a grown-up homemade mac and cheese are comfort food that everyone loves. If you want something a little more elegant but just as easy and cost-friendly, make stuffed shells or manicotti. Serve them with big baskets of warm French bread, crocks of garlic butter and a giant Caesar salad.

Think Mexican food. Why not? Mexican food highlights inexpensive foods with lots of fresh produce. Set up a taco/burrito bar. Offer pans of fatfree refried beans with melted jack cheese, lowfat ground beef cooked with tomatoes and taco seasoning, shredded rotisserie chicken, chopped lettuce, tomatoes, black olives and sliced fresh or roasted peppers. Make sure there are plenty of corn and flour tortillas, some taco shells and salsa and lowfat sour cream. Ask your friends to pitch in for the margarita fixings, and you have a fiesta!

Think potluck. If you really want to gather your family and friends around, but just don't have any extra funds, then ask them to share in the cost. They can either make a dish and bring it or pitch in for the wine and other beverages. They might even have some bottles of wine they've been waiting to share on the right occasion. If they don't cook they can bring the makings of salad or pick up some bread or dessert from the bakery.

Hopefully some of these ideas will make it possible for you to enjoy the holidays with friends and family in the coziness of your own home. So make a list and get cooking, because the holidays are just around the corner!