British version of an American "Pot Luck lunch"

[Thudercatsrule]

Evening wise mumsnetters,

I'm trying to organise a Christmas lunch in work where everyone brings a dish or snacks etc, but i dont know how to phrase it! They call it Pot Luck is the US.

I'm going to book a meeting room, some decorations and then just want everyone to chat and mingle and hopefully get secret santa going as well.

I need to do a poster/email invite.....but am totally stuck on what to say.

So......any ideas please?

Fuddle!

Called a Bring and Share Lunch here

Fuddle

Bring and share.

In my experience, you do need to organise it a bit as the danger is everyone turns up with a cheesecake!

Yes, allocate starters, mains and puddings or savoury and sweet.

Fuddle???? Never heard of that!

If someone invited me to a fuddle I would be very suspicious ..............

We call it a Jacobs Join. I would write a list though and get people to put their name next to an item otherwise you could end up with about 15 quiches.

I'd call it pot luck. My mum was going to pot luck dinner parties in the 70s/80s so I'm not sure it's an American thing.

Known as a Jacob’s Join here.

you're talking about the Christmas fuddle.

Jacob's join in some places

Bring and share is more easily understood.

We don’t have a common name here in the UK so don’t use names that only some people will have heard of, like Jacobs Join or Fuddle.

Just describe it, as PPs have suggested, with something easy to understand - like ‘Bring and share Xmas lunch’.

Bring and share or shared lunch. I've heard of fuddle before but never Jacob's Join.

Bring a Dish Lunch
or Bring and Share Lunch

Then everyone can understand regardless of regional terms

I've never heard of 'bring and share' or 'fuddle'. I have heard about of pot luck so I'd go for that. I wouldn't have a clue if I was invited to a fuddle!

I don't know if it's area dependent bit I am London based and have never heard of fuddle or Jacob's join! Bring and Share is how I'd describe it, although I would know what you meant if you said Pot Luck (which I wouldn't if you'd said fuddle or Jacob's Join!)

We used to call it a Jacob's Table

in my culture that is known as a "one dish" party so everyone brings a dish but you would decide like eg one person brings salad or desert or a main or whatever

Bring and share! That's what it's called in London.

We do this all the time at work.

You need a lead organiser otherwise everyone brings the same dish.

Jacobs join here

I’m in the midlands, I’d know what a pot luck is, but the other terms would have me thinking it was some wierd cult!!! ‘Come to a work fuddle’- erm wtf?! HR we have a problem…

Bring and Share.

Apparently according to Google - Jacob's Join is used in Lancashire and Cumbria and Fuddle is used in Yorkshire, which explains why I'd never heard of either before! If you are based in one of those areas I'd use the relevant word, otherwise I'd stick to bring and share or pot luck.

Bring and share.

But do a list where everyone writes down what they’re planning to bring in advance (on a piece of paper in the office, or online depending on your work set up).

Yep to Jacob’s join.