I love home-made, friends think it's showing off - WWYD???

[amIbeingselfish]

Regular, namechanger ....

I am having some friends round for drinks and nibbles mid-December, pre-Christmas get-together. Just drinks and nibbles, not a meal. I love pottering in the kitchen, so would perhaps make things like bread-sticks & dips ; crudites; marinated olives & cheese; spicy nuts; sticky sausages; mince pies; little cakes etc. The friends I am inviting buy all their nibbles for similar gatherings from Waitrose/M&S, and it's always lovely. But I know probably costs 2 -3 times what I would spend making my own. So, 2 factors for me: cost and personally enjoying cooking. But one of the women made a remark last time I entertained that I was "showing off" by making my own food. I didn't think I was - I thought I was just saving money and doing something I enjoyed.
So a) should I just go buy shop-bought
b) do the things I'm suggesting sound like I'm "showing off" - to me they seem fairly homely, rather than fancy. Any other suggestions for what I could make?

uptoapoint - could those breadsticks be made ahead and frozen? Am thinking of stocking up the freezer with nibbly things. Might start a thread for that?

Home-made is lovely; shop bought can be lovely; most important is a relaxed hostess, so whichever suits I guess.

She's definitely jealous.

I hate cooking, I am crap at it. But unlike your friend, I'm thrilled to go round to someone's house and eat all the lovely stuff they've cooked. I don't know why she doesn't feel the same way.

I would personally cater with prebought stuff but that is solely because cooking for that sort of occasion would stress me out and I would not enjoy the party at all.

Personally, I think buying stuff from Waitrose is showing off, not home-making your nibbles... but I'm probably a cheapskate. I wouldn't shop at Waitrose if I were a BILLIONAIRE.

On a more serious note: I would never serve up bought stuff unless I was having a very terrifically busy week or something. I like making the stuff myself, and if anyone called me a show off for that, I'd tell them they were an INGRATE.

lilolilmanchester - definitely freezable. I make batches when I have cheese to use up. Very nice things to make - lovely soft-but-not-sticky pliable dough. Kids can also help. They are good for after-school snacks, and also for lunchboxes. Freeze them asap or they will get eaten up. Very moreish.

I would never have thought of home made as showing off. OP I would assume she was being comlimentary what you make sounds really lovely and home made with love is much nicer than Waitrose/M&S.

I just made a lemon drizzle cake for DP to take tomorrow to a thing where there'll be a few guys who like cake, which is great as I love making cake but not so much eating it. They're doing him a favour so I made a cake, I'd hate to think they thought I was showing off hopefully they'd just think 'yum, cake'.

I am a bit in awe over the home-made breadsticks thing! Do you do your own cheese, too? (homemade soft cheese is lovely! I've never been that bored keen but I have a friend who makes some)
If you DID want to go the shop-bought route, visit Lidl for 1/3 the cost and all the fabulousness! then tell all your friends that you bought it from a great little German deli you know

MrsMuddyPuddles - I have made paneer before, just out of curiousity. It's easy, but it's too milk-intensive... I am a compulsive try-er of recipes. I just want to know ...