Potlucks

As new parents, and this includes you (new dads). You may be thinking that you’d like a few friends around that are in the same boat as you are, right?

For instance, you either just had a new baby and your friends either don’t have any kids yet or they have all had kids and your the late one to the party right?

Ok well with the pandemic still going on It is much harder these days for new parents to find social groups for other new parents, or parents to be. Most of the groups today have transitioned into online groups. This is a far cry from the social interaction of human contact that we “were” all accustomed to, nevertheless, we need to adapt with the times and do what we can to embrace this “new normal” way of life. It’s a strange time we live in for sure. But I don’t see things changing back to the way it was prior pandemic times.

If you are on social media, chances are you have a tone of old, and new, friends on there that you may, or may not have much contact with these days? But within those contacts you may be surprised to find that several of those people are going through the exact same thing you are going through. Maybe a few of the old acquaintances are having children at the moment? It’s worth having a look anyways.

This might just be the perfect time to try and reconnect with some old friends. Or, maybe there is a coworker, or your partners coworkers that might be having a baby at the same time.

All I’m saying is you may be surprised to see who within your social media group will be going through exactly what you’re going through.

So my suggestion for this blog post, is to have a pot luck gathering/meet and greet.

If you’re comfortable getting together with a few other couples, (and I suggest having a limit of about 5 or 6 couples, all with newborns between the ages of, 0 to 1yr) this will be a total of 10 to 12 adults, plus their kids at your place.

This is a fairly cheap way of getting to know a few different couples with small children. The day will be a little chaotic as a few youngsters will be hard to keep a handle on, it’s a good thing their parents will be there to keep an eye lol.

I would suggest that you try to hold this event between noon and 5pm as most parents will be exhausted and sleep deprived, so not only are you more likely to have people show up but people will be gone early enough for you to tidy up and get an early night yourself.

For the dads out there. If you are presented with an opportunity to attend one of these potlucks, I suggest that you go.

You may be pleasantly surprised at who you may meet. Sure there is a possibility you may not like anyone there, or maybe you’ll find a new mate to hang out with when momma sticks you with the kids so she can have a spa day. Oh and by the way, it’s called fathering and being a good partner lol.

It is perfectly acceptable at one of these gatherings to ask the host what you can bring if it’s not already implied to you when you RSVP, and, you can bring pre made (store bought ) items. Do not feel like you need to slave over a hot stove to bring something special , unless you really want to, you are busy enough already and it’s perfectly acceptable, and appreciated.

The cost for attending one of these potlucks will be around $10 to $15 per couple plus gas/ transport to get there and back.

If your hosting this gathering, then the cost tends to be a bit more. Bank on spending anywhere from $25 to $50 because you will likely be the one supplying burgers, propane, and because you’re the one hosting, you will likely feel more relaxed if you have some extras on hand for your guests, such as pop, water, ect… but don’t go overboard. Entertaining people is not really the goal here. You need to remember that you are co-hosting this in order to reconnect and also possibly meet other couples. Spending too much time entertaining them may result in a missed opportunity to mingle.

If you have any suggestions on potlucks that you’ve hosted, shoot me a message I’d love to hear how it went.