Housewarming Party - Help

[Beary133]

We are in the process of buying a house and we recently got married and did not have a reception, so we were going to combine a wedding celebration and housewarming party BBQ into one after we get settled in.  I am a planner, so I am trying to think of how to word the invitations (or a sheet behind the invitation).

 

We decided that our house was going to be gluten free because I have too many issues (Celiac, Graves', issues with other foods, etc., and I break out in hives if I touch gluten).  I do not mind if guests bring their own beverages to drink, but I do not want them to have their gluten beer in the house.  Is it rude to put on the invitation basically that we hope everyone can understand that our home is gluten free, and if they would like to drink gluten beer, we would kindly like to ask them to keep it outside as to not contaminate our kitchen/home.  Can we also ask them to bring a cooler to keep their beverages cold?

 

I know relatives are going to ask to bring a dish - how do I handle drinks and dishes without offending anyone?

[kareng]

First, I don't have a problem with people drinking beer. Unless they are very sloppy drunks that squirt thier beer everywhere, I don't see an issue.

For food, we put on the invitation something like " Due to food allergies in our home, please do not bring any food to share. Your presence is enough". I know Celiac isn't an allergy but it makes more sense to people. We then talk to the ones we know will insist on bringing food. We can steer them to bags of chips, wine, paper plates, buying the ham, bringing soda, etc.

If someone shows up with food that is not gluten-free, we say thank you and put it away for " later". Or remind them that we can't have that in our home, but thanks soooooo much, etc and send it back to thier car or put it somewhere people won't open it and spread it around.

Some of this may be a bit different for you. I am guessing you are a young couple starting out and people will want to help with the financial burden of a party. That is where you can steer Aunt Sue and your best friend Brad into getting specific things and brands or contributing to the meat.

[MycasMommy]

Yea, int he invitation, include a separate little piece of paper with the note on it. Agree with Kareng, the beer should be fine, even if you use your own cooler or bucket full of ice. Stick it outside in the shade?  Ask whomever wants to bring something to bring fresh ingredients and help you prep cook the day before? If you can afford to take care of the meal, they will likely make up for it with some more extravagant gifting? I do not know your families or if that is what would happen though. The meat is a big ticket item though so If you can have everyone just bring meat... hah you will stock your freezer as well as have it for the BBQ.

[kareng]

Just a piece of advice from my experience - if you are doing a BBQ, don't do burgers or hot dogs - things people expect to eat on a bun. gluten-free buns are expensive - 4 for $5-6. Some people will hate them on principle. Some people won't like them even if they give them a fair try. Cook stuff like BBQ chicken or smoked turkey. Things you can serve in slicesor whole pieces.. You can then make some gluten-free cornbread to go with it. No one seems to mind that.

[MycasMommy]

Or anything you like on a kebab stick!

[bartfull]

Another thing you might be interested in making: I believe (but it would be best to double check) that Hillshire Farms Kielbasa is gluten-free. I have a simple recipe for the slow cooker that is absolutely delicious. Cut the kielbasa into bite-sized chunks. Dump it into the slow cooker with a jar of grape jelly and a jar of chili sauce. Let it cook for a few hours and honestly, it is SO good. Sounds weird but it really is yummy and nothing could be easier to make. Maybe try a small batch before the party and when you see how good it is you won't think I'm crazy.

[LauraTX]

Any time I invite relatives over, or people over, usually holidays... I just let them know "Also, since I have an allergy free kitchen, we are going to provide the food, and you can bring the company!"  And then if anyone really pushes, you can do napkins, drinks, safer things.  One year I had two relatives give me money for about the full cost of Thanksgiving dinner, so the next year I made sure to let them know I don't need that much and turned one person down.

 

And along with the other's recommendations, avoiding hamburgers/hot dogs is probably a good idea with people wanting gluteny bread and also the cost of gluten-free buns that may be wasted by people who don't like it.  Kebabs are something you can grill up and then keep warm in the oven. Also things like chicken and turkey legs, sausages, etc are all things you can do that with.  Of course you could do a bunch of steak, too, if the budget allows.  The hillshire farms sausage mentioned was gluten-free last time I checked, and so are their little cocktail smokies.  For sides, a huge batch of mashed potatoes kept warm in a crock pot is always a crowd pleaser.  Fruit salad and a veggie/dip platter are fancy enough and you won't really need rolls.  Also, a big salad is also an easy thing to put together, and you can do it ahead of time. Lots of salad dressing bottles on the shelf at the store are gluten-free.  Another thing we like to do especially with BBQs is corn, especially if it is in season it is cheap and delicious.  Lots of ways to cook it- grill, boil, so you use whatever heat source isn't taken up by the other stuff.

 

As far as the beer, it really depends on the people.  Gluteny beer isn't going to form crumbs or anything and doesn't have as much gluten in it to get all over stuff, but I think it is worth the peace of mind to just keep it outside so you don't end up having to wipe everything down where drink rings are.  You could also not serve beer, and do something a little more fun and fancy, like margaritas, pretty cocktails, various liquors and soda, wine, etc.  You also have the option of doing no alcohol at all, if people will be okay with that.  It is cheaper and you can still make fancy punches with fruit in it, there are all kinds of recipes out there.   If one or two people end up bringing beer anyways, just tell them personally to keep it outside.  But if you have sloppy drunks in your crowd, time to take the beer away, lol.  Probably best to make them stay outside anyways

[MycasMommy]

Laura... we would throw such FABULOUS parties together....  haha

[BethM55]

For a variation on the kielbasa with grape jam and chili sauce in the crock pot....  I've done something similar with meatballs, using grape jam and BBQ sauce.  I use Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ sauce.  I had to make my own meatballs, since I couldn't find any pre-made that are gluten free, but it's not too difficult.  You can make them with ground turkey to save some money.  And yes, this really is an amazing dish.  You will not have left overs, believe me!  

 

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[LauraTX]

That meatball recipe looks good, Ive had a variation of that before.  The farmrich meatballs in the frozen section are now labeled gluten-free.  If you dont want to make hundreds of them, heh

[Zebra007]

Hi, Perhaps on the invite you could keep it simple and put something like this...

 

As some of you may be aware, I am Gluten intolerant, which requires me to avoid any food items which contains Gluten or Gluten related ingredients (beer)

 

With this in mind, I would be very grateful if you are considering bringing anything to the party, to preferably only bring beverages (which can be drank outside) rather than any food items.

 

Thank you very much for your kind consideration, I really appreciate it.

 

Looking forward to seeing you all!