Richard Wright wrote:

> We do see "Bring a plate" on generally advertised invitations - such
> as street parties.

The only things I've been involved in like this said something along the
lines of Please bring something to add to the feast. We suggest... and
the gap filled by the organizers so they didn't get 900 gallons of
coleslaw and no quiche!

Other than that, we have a gathering of friends every New Year and we
all pitch in with the food. Each couple provides a meal for the
gathering. Maybe lasagna and salad and apple pie for 16 people, and
something for the buffet on the evening (I often do a poached salmon as
I have a fish kettle). Our hostess provides breakfasts and New Years
Day's dinner. It works very well. The kids usually help with loading
and unloading the dishwasher, preparing vegetables on NYD, and setting
tables and the like, and for up to a week we party! Last New Year
there were 24 of us sitting down for lunch on New Years Day.

I think is works this well because we all lived in a similar 'all hands
to the pump' way as a group of students back in Durham in the 70's, and
we've just kept it going. People drift in and out over the years (some
have drifted to the Yukon - mad!), kids have grown (at 10 James is the
youngest - we were late starters as the oldest 'kids' are now 21!), but
the core group is strong enough to keep life rolling on.
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