“Truly great friends are hard to find, difficult to leave, and impossible to forget.”- Randolf G
As life gets busier it is getting harder to find time to spend with my close girl friends. Kids, husbands, jobs and so many other things take precedence over just getting together and hanging out. Facebook, text messaging and e-mail make us feel like we know each other but there is no replacement for some good face time.
So about 18 months ago a few girlfriends and I decided to begin a “Dinner Club”- taking one night a month to prioritize our relationships with each other and catch up on life. We meet at someone’s house (sans boyfriends, husbands and usually kids) and take a few hours to sit down and eat a meal together. It’s a great chance to catch up on what is going on in everyone’s life.
We decided to add a challenge. In addition to setting aside some important time to hang out we wanted to further develop our cooking skills (some need more developing than others).
Whoever chooses to host the dinner gets to pick a theme. We rotate houses each month so that the burden of hosting does not always fall on one person. Everyone must prepare a recipe within that theme that they have NEVER COOKED BEFORE. So far our themes have included Chinese, Irish, Hawaiian, things that are round (that was interesting) and even a proper English Christmas meal. Some of the recipes turn out to be epic failures and some become new favorites.
At the end of these nights my cheeks usually hurt from laughing. My belly is full of good food. My heart is satisfied from having time with a great group of friends. And my wallet is usually only about $10 emptier.
So if you have been missing your girlfriends and have been looking for an excuse to get together, I recommend a great frugal activity: begin a Dinner Club.
Thanks to Jessica (a member of our dinner club) for the beautiful picture. You can check out her work here.
