Cheap ways to invite people to things

[danishyellow]

we are currently living on a prayer financially but living among lots of people who are doing very nicely. We go along to parties etc and have in the past given some ourselves but struggling to return hospitality.
how can we invite people
to things that don’t cost too much.

What sort of things are they inviting you to?

how many do you envisage inviting?

bbq?

What are you being invited to ? Can you invite people for a bbq or maybe drinks and "nibbles "rather than meals

You self cater and buy everything when it's on offer . You ask them to bring a bottle/dessert/nibbles . You put loads of lights up , candles, make it look good. You can get loads of decorations cheaply from HB or B&M .Make it lots of fun and don't apologise for your circumstances if ppl like you they will come if you have zilch . Good luck 🤞

Is this for adults or families?

brunch or lunch
walk and coffee/ice cream
pizza in the park.
Beach trip

how about an American style pot luck with a theme - share your best recipe from summer 2026?

Maybe don't try and invite big groups- bake something and invite v small groups over for tea/coffee plus your baking. If you have an air fryer you don't even have to turn the oven on!

If you can't bake check out that app where cafés and bakeries give their unsold good away at the fraction of the price at the end of the day. I'm sure they'd be ok for next morning.

If weather is nice, grab a thermos and meet outside.

I am all for 'bring and share' type events, but, if @danishyellow is looking for ways to "return the hospitality" then they don't really work, if others in the friendship group have all hosted.

It works fine if that is what the group all do.

Honemade curry, rice and homemade flatbreads (cheap, always a crowd pleaser) with a few beers or bottles of wine. I would definitely arrive with drinks as a guest.

Brunch pastries, little yogurt and fruit cups and coffee.

Tea and cake.

Thanks all - will think on. Have been invited to dinner/ birthday parties and extravagant macmillan coffee mornings. Just feel like we never host any more.

I’ve been to a few BBQ’s where everyone brought their own meat and drink, the hosts did some salads etc.

We host a lot of drinks and nibbles evenings and people bring their own alcohol.

hi OP - home made pizzas are one of the cheapest but best looking hosting type thingies. i also make home made potatoes wedges, then bags of salads etc. get guests to bring other nibbles - fancy crisps, olives etc. and everyone brings a bottle too of course. and yes, lots of cheap fairy lights, candles and a very good play list - sounds like a great night!!!

Surely McMillan coffee mornings are more about fundraising than hosting?

everyone contributes.

i’ve always been of the view that it’s the company which matters more than the venue or the food. As the friend who often ends up being the organiser, I also just appreciate someone else doing the organising. So I am very happy to go for a walk somewhere new and delighted if cake is produced half way or at a scenic spot. Another friend used to be able to get hold of kayaks through her work so we used to use those on a summer’s evening and then go to the pub. Perhaps it helped that we had very different jobs and so it was always likely to be the case that we’d have differing amounts to spend on socialising. I think where it can be more challenging is if you met as students and some people have done better than others financially and seem to now be in their own bubble and oblivious to the fact that not everyone can contribute equally

Have a pasta party! Keep it very simple, use ingredients with big flavour so less required, an nduja and cherry tomato mafalde, and a blue cheese, butternut squash and sage baked pasta topped with walnuts. Serve with a green salad and garlic flat breads. Bring a bottle.

I think one of the keys to keeping costs down is limiting the number of dishes you serve and keeping avoiding dishes with a meat base.

“Extravagant mcmillion coffee mornings”? Tell us more!!

It might be less stressful to decline if circumstances don't allow at the moment, you can explain you are 'not in a position to host' to the people you are closest to.
There's no point putting yourself under unnecessary pressure.

There are so many ways to entertain cheaply. Afternoon tea is just sandwiches and cake which are really not expensive to make. You could do big pots of chilli or curry. I find a pork shoulder made into pulled pork in the slow cooker very cost effective.

the thing to remember is that people are just pleased to be invited over and it doesn’t need to be a big expensive palaver.

This is the ideal weather for cheaper hosting as its so hot everyone wants salad anyway :) or pasta or pizza are good options.