Host a dinner party with a homemade menu.

“I used to host a 10-12 person dinner party on an almost weekly basis, because I loved hosting people so much. I would choose the menu for the evening, usually a cooking project another group member and I wanted to try. We’d invite people over at a certain time if they wanted to help cook (or keep the cooks company with good conversation), and we’d tell people when food would be ready. One person would buy all the groceries, and at the end of the night, we’d divide the costs and Venmo back to that one person. Usually our costs were around $7-$8 per person. Once we did steak and shrimp and it went up to about $15 pp. The food was always so incredible, and my cooking skills definitely leveled up over the 3 years or so that we did this. Everyone was encouraged to bring any beverages they wanted, and they were usually shared with the group. It was never too fancy or stuffy or structured. Just good people enjoying good food. I miss those dinner parties so much.”