Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

How often do you have people over for a meal?

104 replies

Tiqtaq · 12/07/2023 11:02

For me maybe once a month but that's mainly lunch for a friend or a roast with siblings and parents.

I never do big dinner parties and wonder if other people still do? My parents had people over to eat way more often than I do.

So, I'm interested to know, how often do you have people over for a meal?

OP posts:
Shoxfordian · 12/07/2023 11:06

Probably a couple of times a month, I love hosting and cooking for people

Spanielsarepainless · 12/07/2023 11:13

We used to do it regularly but not any more. It went from four course home-cooked, all the silver, glasses, napkins, to popping round to the chippie, in a couple of years! Home situation has changed drastically and we won't even be doing that now.

Lastqueenofscotland2 · 12/07/2023 11:14

Rarely. I dont love hosting.

LBOCS2 · 12/07/2023 11:19

Probably once a month, and it varies - sometimes it's Sunday lunch or the equivalent, sometimes it's a full three courses and all the bells and whistles.

I enjoy cooking and I enjoy hosting so it's something I like doing, even though DH would tell everyone that it doesn't look like it when I'm in a last minute panic just before guests arrive!

DancingBarefootTonight · 12/07/2023 11:19

For lunch, my friends or at least a couple of them, are here once or twice a week.

For dinner with friends, about once every 6 weeks as we take turns. Nothing formal, just dinner, sometimes drinks as well or sometimes we have a night out afterwards.

Berlinlover · 12/07/2023 11:30

Never.

Merrz · 12/07/2023 11:31

Wow i'm quite amazed even at the once a month. I'm once, maybe twice a year

TheFlis12345 · 12/07/2023 11:35

At least once a month, more in summer as we have a pizza oven and love to BBQ.

SerenChocolateMuncher · 12/07/2023 11:36

A couple of times a month with local friends and neighbours, more often when we have family or friends staying. We do dinner-party type meals mostly in the Autumn/Winter and tea or takeaway in the garden in the Spring/Summer. We enjoy hosting and being hosted. It's a very important part of our social life.

NeverThatSerious · 12/07/2023 11:38

We have the in laws here once a week, sometimes takeaway but often home cooked dinner.
My family come maybe once every couple of months or so for a Sunday roast, we all take it in turns to host.
My friends and I used to do dinner every month, and again used to take it in turns, but alas that’s all changed now we all have small children.

holycannaloni · 12/07/2023 11:44

Very rarely - all our friends would rather go out to eat and it just seems much easier, you know? Eating out is more enjoyable, unless one of my female friends has an empty house for example. My husband and I aren't big fans of cooking and hosting, it's always just seemed too much effort for me. My family were expats who lived all over the world in those types of communities and we were always having dinner parties/they were going to them, so it does feel different to how I grew up, but my Mum had a lot more time to prepare and clear up than we do!

MissPop · 12/07/2023 11:47

Absolutely never. Won’t be breaking the habit of a lifetime either.

SunRainStorm · 12/07/2023 11:48

I was thinking this as well.

My parents often held/went to dinner parties when I was small. We never do!

We meet friends in restaurants, is it because our homes are smaller?

KimberleyClark · 12/07/2023 11:48

Not usually very often but we’ve been having one particular couple over quite a lot recently because they’ve been having major work done on their house and didn’t have a kitchen.

Poseidensgrumpyneighbour · 12/07/2023 11:50

Maybe once a week. Not like formal dinner parties but people often pop by and we end up feeding them. I could do with it happening a bit less tbh because I do spend a lot of time cleaning up but I'm glad people feel welcome here.

TheChosenTwo · 12/07/2023 11:50

Maybe a couple of times a month. I mean, we have extra people about 3 times a week but that’s just friends of the dc, or my sister.
But a couple of times a month we have friends or family over for dinner but not what I would call a dinner party.

Raggeo · 12/07/2023 11:51

It varies. This week for example we had friends for Sunday lunch then friends for dinner last night. But we might go a few weeks before having people over again. We have young children so it's easier to have friends come to us rather than go out. We also have a large garden and space inside so friends with children like to come here and let the kids play together. Im happy to have a house that people feel welcome in and want to come to. I hate cooking for people though so usually DH is in charge of that part.

Beezknees · 12/07/2023 11:51

Never. I live in a small council flat. I do not have the space to have people over for a meal.

thatsaysfriedricenotnoregrets · 12/07/2023 11:52

As often as possible but no more than 2 guests. I love hosting and having people enjoy themselves at my home. I love people eating food I've cooked and I love drinking wine and relaxing.

Gonnawashmymouthout · 12/07/2023 11:54

Since Covid a lot less !

these days it’s:
FIL over for dinner every week
my mum every month (she lives further away)
a couple of long standing friends who visit every few months and stay over, they have dinner, breakfast and lunch with us
sometimes my son has friends over for tea

Nothing fancy or formal though.

pre Covid I worked 4 days a week. On my day off I used to have a bunch of other mums and their kids over every couple of weeks for lunch on my day off. But it was really only toastie and soup on the menu

sixthvestibule · 12/07/2023 11:57

Never, I wouldn’t know who to invite and don’t have matching tableware.

Bloodyleaverspartybollocks · 12/07/2023 11:58

Once a year at Christmas

SirenSays · 12/07/2023 12:00

Quite often, we have friends over for dinner a few times a month.
We have friends over for sports or games often too but that food is usually more casual things like homemade pizzas, huge stir fry, different flavoured popcorns...

DramatisPersonae · 12/07/2023 12:01

Probably weekly or more in normal circumstances, but since Covid we've been living on a building site in a house undergoing major renovation, and have only a little camp kitchen and a table in a living room, so less often. In the summer we do it more often, because there's a big table we can fit people at in the garden, and it's easier to produce salads and tarts etc that can be made in advance or don't require any cooking.

I love having people here. DH cooks extremely well, I like having friends around, and I'm not one of the posters I see on here who worries about the house being 'visitor-ready'. By definition, it looks like a battlefield 24/7, with swathes of builder dust landing as soon as it's cleaned and doors blocked up and holes in walls etc.

ThisIsACoolUserName · 12/07/2023 12:05

Never anymore, and hope not to again.

DH (41) and I (39) have had friends over for dinner hundreds and hundreds of times during our 20 years together. DH likes to cook and I like to host and make the house look nice.

But three things:

  • The lockdowns made us realise how tiring we find it. We didn't know that we did until we weren't doing it anymore.
  • DH has retrained and doesn't have as much time on his hands for planning and prep.
  • We got sick of noone ever returning the favour. Lots of "We must have you round for dinner", but people generally don't have it in them to actually suggest dates and make it happen.

So we're retired from cooking for friends and now only meet friends in town for drinks at a pub.

Swipe left for the next trending thread