Bring your family and friends together on New Years Eve with a potluck dinner. Each household can contribute something when you have a potluck dinner. That way, the responsibility of the food is not on just one person or family.

If you are fortunate enough to have other members of your family around, plan a potluck dinner to bring in the New Year. Begin by setting your plan in motion.

Start with the planning. Find a time when everyone can meet to hash out the details. You can come up with a menu together and then divide it into parts so that each household knows what they are bringing. Begin with what you may already have in your home. If anyone has paper goods, sodas or the makings of a dish, that will save money.

Set the time. Keep in mind that family members may have other activities planned for the evening. Usually earlier is better. Decide which family will host the dinner. You can rotate each year so that no one is missed.

Pre-dinner fun – Bring everyone together an hour or two ahead of time to spend quality time together. One activity that gets everyone up and on their feet is interactive video games. Anyone have a Wii in the house? Playing a game like Guitar Hero or Super Smash Bros. Brawl will fuel the appetite.

Don’t forget the card games. Families can have a great time playing Hearts, Rummy and Spades. For the kids, there’s Old Maid, Go Fish and Uno to name a few. Make it interesting and play for a golden prize of candy or small change.

Potluck – What are you serving that smells so good? Set up a table where everyone can serve themselves buffet-style. To avoid a messy rug or floor, place drinks in the kitchen on the counter along with cups and a bowl of ice. Using paper products makes clean up easy for the hosting family.

If you live in the south, no New Year’s meal would be complete without the traditional foods that may bring good fortune in the year to come. These include black-eyed peas for wealth, pork for prosperity and cornbread for gold.

Dessert will put the finishing touches on your potluck meal. Each family can bring their own offering for the after-dinner treat to add variety. The taste of these endless treats will give a sweet touch to your New Year celebration.

Post-dinner fun – Before everyone gets away, try this activity. Go around the room and let each person tell one thing that they would like to accomplish in the New Year. Now, your family can help encourage you to meet that goal over the next twelve months.

A potluck dinner is a great way to get friends and family together to ring a New Year. Have some food, some laughs and make new memories that you can treasure for a lifetime.