A Christmas potluck everyone can plan together

Setting up a holiday potluck

Pick your date early — before the weekends fill with office parties — and share the link straight away. On Bringy you create the event, add the dishes you’d like as open slots, and guests claim them from the group chat with no sign-up. It works just as well for a family Christmas, a friends’ dinner, or a work holiday lunch.

Festive dish ideas

• Glazed ham
  Cooked the day before, served cold or warm.
• Roast turkey crown or chicken
  Usually the host’s job.
• Nut roast or mushroom Wellington
  A vegetarian centrepiece (flag the nuts).
• Roast potatoes
  Best made where they’re eaten — assign to the host’s oven.
• Honey-glazed carrots and parsnips
  Reheat well.
• Brussels sprouts with bacon or chestnuts
  Converts sceptics.
• Red cabbage
  Tastes even better made a day ahead.
• Stuffing balls
  Portable and easy to share.
• Cheese board with chutney
  No cooking needed.
• Christmas cookies
  Gingerbread, shortbread or Vanillekipferl.
• Yule log or Christmas pudding
  Something to set on fire, ideally safely.
• Mulled wine or Glühwein
  Keep it warm in a slow cooker; bring a spiced alcohol-free punch too.
• Eggnog
  A love-it-or-hate-it essential.

Not everything needs to be festive — our general potluck ideas fill any gaps.

Make it a cookie swap

A cookie swap is a potluck for bakers: everyone brings a few dozen of one kind and leaves with a mixed box. Add each cookie as its own item so nobody doubles up, and ask bakers to tag allergens — cookie swaps are full of nuts, butter and eggs.

Allergies at the holiday table

Holiday food is rich in exactly the common allergens: nuts in stuffing and desserts, dairy in almost everything, gluten in pastry. Ask guests to RSVP with any allergies, have every dish list what it contains, and Bringy will flag anything that clashes.

Keep the list tidy as the day gets close

A few days before, check the list for gaps, nudge anyone who hasn’t claimed a dish, and lock the event so it stops changing. On the day, everyone already knows what’s coming, and you get to enjoy the party. The same approach works for Friendsgiving and the office potluck.