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...of Creative
Frugality
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Creatively Frugal
Hospitality
What creative strategies do you use for showing Christian hospitality on a
tight budget?
"My husband and I have been on a
tight budget for years, but always enjoyed the fellowship with
friends. I never felt I could invite anyone over to our home because
I couldn't afford a dinner for a group, and I'm really not such a
great cook for a crowd anyway. Finally, it dawned on me that it
doesn't matter what you are eating, people are just interested in
getting together. So the idea of 'Cake and Coffees' was born. I
invited about six couples. I told them their kids were welcome and
asked them to bring a dessert. We would also supply a dessert and
the coffee/tea. Everyone from the oldest to the youngest had a blast
and these events have continued regularly. We even had a 'chili
fest' one night where some people brought a crock pot of chili,
others a salad, others cornbread/rolls. Everyone raves about
them and they cost next to nothing to host..." ~ Margie
"My parents entertained friends
with a deck of cards, Kool-Aid (1/2 or less of the recommended
sugar) and chips or pretzels. The children
played sports like softball or board games like Monopoly. If they
wanted to cook, spaghetti or a casserole along with a salad and a
vegetable grown in their garden made a good inexpensive meal.
Dessert was an apple pie or something simple like Jello. Every
Saturday we would either entertain friends or visit them.
Even if you have to buy
everything it should cost about $20.00 or less (depending on the
number of people eating)." ~ CINBAD
"We don't always try to
entertain on a budget, but something we like to do that isn't
costly, is to have a couple kinds of soup/chowder in the crock
pots along with a tossed salad and dessert, makes for a good and
hearty meal. Then we play table games which most people
enjoy." ~ Marylin
"This idea killed two birds with one stone. My sister, her
husband and my hubby and I wanted to invite the Pastor, his wife
and the Evangelist to supper. I am shy; my sister is a great
cook. Her home was 20 miles one way from the church. Our home
was about 10 blocks from the church. My sister and I got
together and invited them. We opened our home and made a crock
pot of Beef Stew, rolls, drink and she brought her Great
coleslaw, and Pumpkin Pie, and Apple Pie. The evening was NICE.
The cost was shared by 2 women wanting to share. If expense is
your reason for not wanting to 'entertain strangers'', find
another family to share the evening, you'll have twice fun with
little cost." ~ Ruth
"I have a hairdresser who has
cut my hair for
the last year and would not take any money as she
knew money was tight for me going through a
divorce. When my farmer's garden produced, he
sold his tomatoes, corn, okra, eggplant, green
beans, peppers for less than 1/2 the price of the
grocery store. I would take her a dozen ears of
corn or some other produce to thank her for her
generosity. I felt this was showing my Christian
Hospitality on a budget." ~ Betty G.
"We bake whole wheat banana
walnut bread and store it in our freezer. We use butter, not
shortening, for better taste. Use small loaf pans, not the mini
single-serve size, but not the large loaf size. When a friend
comes by, I take a loaf from our freezer just for them. Because
it's a small loaf, we don't feel obligated to eat like pigs and I
don't have half a loaf going stale.
Our 'special' teabags are individually foil wrapped
and we keep them in a copper canister. I save a wax bag from
the toasted oats cereal to keep our regular tea bags fresher
inside their copper canister. When a friend stops by, I make a pot
of tea for both of us. It makes the tea go further. Because
there's already a whole pot made, my friend can serve herself
another cup without asking for more water.
Some guests are impressed because we use cloth
napkins. I don't mean for that to sound uppity. Our close
friends know that we use cloth napkins in lunch boxes, in pockets
going to Little League games, and even for dinner. If you don't
usually use cloth napkins, pull them out to make a simple cup of
tea and banana bread into a tea party. You might find that
cloth napkins make family dinner feel more special. I've bought
all our napkins at yard sales for very little money
(probably because there were only 5 linen napkins when there
should have been 8 to a set.)" ~ Pat
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"We do a lot of entertaining. My
family has seven members so I am always cooking for a crowd. I make
enough for guests by adding extra potatoes/rice/pasta and an extra
vegetable. I don't make more meat; we just get a smaller serving per
person. I am often surprised the way our guests rave about the
wonderful meal. Good hospitality is not about fancy ingredients; it
is about warm fellowship around a table and a welcoming heart.
On occasions when we have guests and are not serving a meal, I pull
out the popcorn popper. In the summer we have iced tea with it and
in the winter, homemade hot cocoa. Board games, card games or just
good conversation are our entertainment. My door is always open to a
friend and I have found that sharing what little I have becomes a
feast when served with love." ~ Jonanna
"Soups.....everyone
loves homemade soups. Just add cornbread and voila!
I do this often and I get lots of raves." ~ Anonymous
"One of the easiest things
I've found is to serve a meal of soup and bread, followed with
tea, cookies/banana bread/homemade pie, or fruit for dessert.
I'm becoming famous as a soup maker in my church, and in the
colder months, I'll often have two-three people over at once
(due to my limited space) for a meal after Sunday services. I
also make my own bread, and with homemade banana bread and tea
for dessert, this is an inexpensive meal. I'll usually make
either chicken noodle, black bean or veggie soups. I rotate
them, but no one has complained about having the same meal
more than once. These soups can also be made in the crock pot
for even easier preparation!" ~ Michele
"We have people over once
or twice a week. Being on one income, I often find it
a challenge, but our visitors always praise my meals, and it
hasn't significantly affected our budget.
A couple of time a week, I now
cook meatless (or almost) meals for my family. This
saves on the cost of meat, which is the most expensive part
of the meal.
When I shop, I always set a
maximum cost per kilo for the meat I buy. Stores often
discount meat that is close to its use-by date, and that can
be a great savings. When I buy it, it goes straight in
the freezer, so it doesn't matter what the use-by date
is. I find chicken wings to be very cheap & my
kids love them. There are lots of different marinades
that you can make, to make them taste interesting.
Ground beef is also a winner & if you buy it in bulk,
you can get a great discount.
When we have visitors, I always
cook a dessert, although as a family we rarely have
dessert. I make puddings and sweet dumplings that are
basically just flour, eggs, butter and milk, with different
sauces. Our visitors love them and they cost very
little to make." ~ Jennell
"We recently had some
friends and their family over for a backyard barbeque.
Feeding both large families would have been costly but she
suggested we do 'bring your own meat.' We did barbeque
chicken breasts and we each brought a salad to share. We
provided the punch and a bag of chips. It cost no more than
feeding my own family but we enjoyed the company. The kids
played in the back yard and we just visited but we
could have played a board game as well." ~ Saundra
Editor's Note: Thanks to everyone who took the time to share
his or her ideas!
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