- 1). Get organized digitally. Start a pot luck party email loop or a Yahoo! Groups page (groups.yahoo.com); or start a blog on a free hosting service such as Blogger.com. Include the link or your email address on invitations and encourage guests to go and list what they plan to bring.
- 2). Suggest categories for your guests, such as "Entrees," "Side Dishes," "Drinks," and "Desserts." Give some suggestions for dishes within each category, such as "fried chicken" and "hot dogs" under Entrees, "potato salad" and "baked beans" under Side Dishes, or "watermelon" and "cup cakes" under Desserts. Check the list daily as the party approaches. If you see one category growing too long, post a message such as, "Looks like we have enough side dishes, but we still need more drinks and desserts." Send guests a confirmation email message a day or two before to remind them of what they signed up to bring.
- 3). Prepare both an indoor and an outdoor place for guests to gather. Many people like to go out and enjoy the sunshine and fireworks on the Fourth of July, but having an indoor retreat where people can escape insects, heat, rain, or noise will be appreciated by guests.
- 4). Set up a drink station separate from the food tables. People will be getting up and down for drinks more than they will for food, and will be looking for drinks while you are setting up and cleaning up. Keeping drinks separate will help the traffic flow more efficiently.
- 5). Keep coolers ready in case your fridge fills up. Independence Day is often too hot to take any chances leaving food out. Place food containers filled with water in the freezer a few days before the party. Remove the ice bricks and place them at the bottom of a cooler to hold cold foods until meal time. Ice bricks last longer than cubes.
- 6). Keep a cooler ready to receive hot items, as well. Coolers are insulated, so they can be used to keep food hot, too. Heat bricks in a 200 degree oven for a half-hour. Use a pot holder to take them out of the oven and wrap each one in a tea towel. Place three or four in a cooler to keep food warm.
- 7). To cool drinks very quickly, fill a container one-quarter of the way with water. Add an equal amount of ice cubes. Pour in 1 to 2 cups of salt and mix it well, then place your canned and bottled drinks in it. The salt makes the ice colder so that even room-temperature drinks will be ice cold in just 15 minutes, and this will keep your guests enjoying the pot luck with cool drinks.
- 8). Set large trays filled with ice on your tables if your pot luck is outdoors. When it is time to set out food and serve, set the bowls into the ice to help keep them cool during the meal. Keep your tables in the shade to further help foods from going bad too quickly.
- 9). Keep people from milling about the kitchen or barbecue area. As soon as guests arrive, greet them and grab their dish, then direct them to the drink table and somewhere chairs are set up so they can mingle and relax until meal time.
- 10
Have some sparklers, Fourth of July coloring books and crayons, a Frisbee, or bottles of bubbles set up somewhere for children to play with and keep busy while you set up. Ask adults to take shifts in supervising kids to keep kids safe and give everyone a chance to relax.
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