by Meredith Davises

Created on: September 27, 2009

Office party potlucks can be a lot of fun and the food is always very creative. Some office staff has a potluck once a month to celebrate that month's employee birthdays or holidays. Other potlucks celebrate business success and employee promotions. Potlucks may be for a retiring employee or a wedding or baby shower.

The person who has the most daily contact with all of the employees organizes the office potluck. An administrative assistant who directs the correspondence in the office is a very good candidate for coordinating potlucks. Some SAHW (stay at home wives) will also help when needed. In other offices, the potluck is assigned on a rotation and every one will organize a potluck throughout the year.

When the potluck is not arranged for after work hours, it is served at lunch. The potluck can start at the mid-morning break and end at the afternoon break to accommodate every one's schedule. The extended hours work well for a wedding or baby shower when there may be gifts to unwrap. The potluck has been cleared away and the guest can enjoy the festivities of gift giving.

The foods for the potluck should be healthy and nutritional. Appetizers are very important for an office style potluck. The food should be easy to serve and the clean up should be minimal. Turkey or ham wraps are popular. Appetizers might be spicy peppery poppers, breaded mozzarella sticks and egg salad on a patty shell.

A potluck could be as simple as having a baked potato bar and letting every one bring toppings. Soups and sandwiches could also be added as well as some salads. Making sure that there are plenty of low-calorie choices is essential for providing a healthy meal.

Sushi is another popular office potluck. It is often accompanied with a second entre of steak strips. Some side dishes might be curried rice, ginger noodles, and a vegetable tray with spicy mustard dips.

A favorite potluck is pizza delivery where every one contributes a few dollars and brings a side dish. Some salads and warm pasta make it a very cheerful environment.

Desserts for an office potluck might be as simple as an apple crisp, scones, cookie bars and a cake for special occasions.

To keep every thing light hearted and fun, make sure that you keep sending creative reminders to the employees especially the day before the potluck. The reminder can be a simply memo that says don't bring your lunch tomorrow. Bring your potluck dish.

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