Progressive Dinner

Photo by caryn74

OK, call me sheltered, but I’ve never heard of a progressive dinner. At first, thoughts of a dinner set to a tortuous avant-garde jazz soundtrack entered my mind, but not so. Instead, imagine if a potluck had a baby with a pub crawl.

I was introduced to a progressive dinner this weekend by a couple whose neighborhood association puts together the event. The idea of a progressive dinner is that the dinner progresses from house to house, and from course to course. One house hosts the first course; the next house hosts the next course, and so on. Host houses, how many courses, and the length of each house visit are determined beforehand. The work is kept minimal for each household, the party moves on, and things stay fresh. Brilliant! Why didn’t I think of this – or at least hear of this?

A progressive dinner would work well in a neighborhood where people know each other, or as a way to get to know your neighbors. December is pretty much the get-drunk-and-party month of the year, so you might want to think about giving the progressive dinner a try. Just attaching the word “progressive” to your party will make it that much cooler.