New Year is one of the most important holidays for many. And I want to celebrate it in a big way, having laid a luxurious, plentiful table. However, when the celebration is over, some sadly remember the money spent, looking at the mountains of leftover food. How to combine the glow of the holiday with frugality?
Make a New Year's dinner menu in advance, at least a few weeks before the holiday. This will help not only make it thoughtful and logical, but also start buying products a few days before the general excitement and explosive growth in prices. The grocery list will save you both from spontaneous purchases and from sudden disappointment when the necessary ingredient is not on the shelves and you have to change plans.
According to the experience of professional party organizers, if guests wait 2-3 hours before serving the main, hot dish, then in order for them not to feel hungry, but at the same time they started the main meal with an appetite, it is enough to serve 4-5 different types of snacks. Keep in mind that on average, during this time, people eat up to 500 grams of food. From their experience, it follows that the average eater drinks up to 250 ml of soft drinks and about 150 ml of alcohol. Serve hot, at the rate of 200-300 grams of meat and 100-150 grams of garnish.
Most of the money on New Year's holidays is spent on ready-made snacks and smoked meats. Remember that instead of ready-made hams and sausages, you can serve boiled pork and boiled tongue. You can pickle red fish yourself, and it will be even tastier than the purchased one. Terrine, a baked pâté made from ground meat and offal with various additives, will become a delicious meat appetizer that will compete with sausages.
If you are expecting guests, agree in advance which of them will bring what to the table. Divide the expenses, because this is a common holiday. The easiest way to entrust friends and family with the purchase of drinks, alcohol, fruit and sweets.
Instead of giving gifts to every guest and expecting the same from them, announce a game of Secret Santa. The meaning of this fun is that each of you will prepare only one surprise for the one whose name he comes across during the draw. So everyone will have one, but carefully chosen gift, instead of a lot of different souvenirs. So that “no one leaves offended,” agree in advance about the amount that should be spent on the gift and look into each other's wishlists.
Use homemade decorations to decorate your home. It is a cute pre-revolutionary tradition to make paper garlands in the evenings with the whole family, paint walnuts with gold paint, wrap tangerines in foil, etc. - deserves a revival, not only for reasons of economy.
