How to Host a Progressive Dinner with Family or Friends

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Family traditions are a huge part of the holidays. Kids tend to remember activities more than physical gifts. Making memories with our families is something that will have a lasting impact on future generations.

A Progressive Dinner party is one way to start a new family tradition. It is also a great way to have a fun evening with friends.

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What is a Progressive Dinner?

A Progressive Dinner is a meal that is split between different houses. You typically have one course at each house, before traveling to the next house for the next course. 

Obviously, this isn’t practical for everyone, but if you have family or a group of friends close by, it can make for a very fun day.

A Progressive Dinner would also work equally well for a Christmas party or a Friendsgiving (Thanksgiving with friends). If you plan on doing this at Christmas, it is a great way to get to see everyone’s Christmas decor during the holiday season.

For us, there are only three families involved, so we only do three courses. However, you can extend it to more if you would like.

Five would probably be the maximum number of houses that would be practical (And even that might be pushing it!) but it could be done if everyone doesn’t live too far away.

There are many ways to do Progressive Dinner Parties. I’m going to share how our family does ours and then give you ideas and suggestions on how to start your own.

Our Family’s Christmas Progressive Dinner

Our family’s Christmas Progressive Dinner takes place on Christmas Day. We start at about 10:30 on Christmas morning at someone’s house to have a first course of appetizers.

Usually, we just have two or three small pick-me-ups, not a huge spread. (Remember, we will be eating again soon!)

It is totally up to the host what to serve, but we always try to keep it simple. This isn’t about the food or entertaining, it is about spending time with family and making memories.

We also open presents during this time as well. The “appetizer host family” hands out their presents to the recipients and they are opened here. (See note below on how we do presents.)

Once we have finished at the “appetizer host family’s house, we move on to the next house where the main course is served. After eating, we again open presents there.

Finally, we move on to the last house where we have dessert and open the presents there as well. All told, this usually takes us about four hours on Christmas Day.

Things to Consider When Planning a Progressive Dinner

So if you want to plan your own Progressive Dinner, there are several things you might want to consider.

First, you need to decide on how many houses you will visit. If you have many families involved, you may want to choose three or four to do the hosting and switch it up the following year.

For the courses, you have lots to choose from:

• appetizers and/or cocktails
• soup
• salad
• main dish
• dessert

Remember…you don’t have to do them all!

It is a good idea to have the event organizer contact everyone so that the meal courses flow together and make sure her fellow hosts are aware of any food allergies.

Secondly, keep in mind the travel time to each house as you set this up. This isn’t an issue for my family as we all live within walking distance of each other.

But if you have larger distances to cover, you will want to set up the progressive dinner so you are going from house to house with the shortest distance between each one. (You don’t want to pass one house on the way to another, only to have to come back to that house later during the meal.)

Another consideration is the food. Food needs to be ready when you get to each house or within a few minutes of arriving.

You don’t want to arrive at the “main dish family’s” house, only to have to wait an hour for the lasagna to cook. That would make the dinner last an extremely long time.

A slow cooker dish is a great option for the main course, along with a salad that can be made ahead of time.

If children are participating, plan on having a few toys on hand to keep them occupied while the adults visit. Coloring books and crayons or dollar store toys will go a long way to helping everyone have a good time and keep the kids from getting bored.

Most children have short attention spans and are likely to tire out quickly, especially if they don’t have something fun to entertain them.

You need to plan on at least one hour per house you are planning to visit, plus travel time. So for three courses, you should probably plan for about 4 hours.

If you are doing the Progressive Dinner in the evening, 3 courses would be about all you would have time for. However, if you are going from house to house in a neighborhood and serving mostly finger foods or hors d’oeuvres, you could probably visit 4 or 5 homes.

A Word on Opening Gifts

Gifts don’t have to be involved in this event, especially if you are doing a progressive dinner with friends. However, we do it as part of our Christmas present exchange.

If you are planning your dinner with lots of people, some of whom aren’t hosting, you could do the gift exchange at one of the houses instead of serving part of the meal. A coffee/hot chocolate bar would be great to go along with the gift exchange.

With children, you could do the gift exchange at the first house instead of (or along with) the appetizers. This would give the kids a new toy to take with them to play with as the dinner progresses.

One other thing worth mentioning about gift exchanges… (Caution: I’m getting on my soapbox here!) When we hand out presents, we always do so ONE AT A TIME.

Once one present is opened we hand out another. This ensures that everyone sees what each person is receiving instead of a “free-for-all” present opening.

I know when I give a gift, I want to be able to enjoy watching the person open it. This also allows time for everyone to thank the person who gave the gift and teaches patience to the children.

It also makes the gift opening last longer, which extends the fun. (Ok, I’m off my soapbox now!)

Remember What Matters Most

At the end of the day, a Progressive Dinner is not about the fanciest food, the nicest china, or the best-decorated house. There is nothing wrong with serving sandwiches on paper plates.

It is about enjoying the company of those we love while creating memories with our family and friends.

With a little planning and the right group of people, a progressive dinner can be so much fun and something a little bit more unusual than a traditional dinner party.

Want More Christmas Traditions?

Are you looking to create more memories with your family this Christmas season? Check out this post on the 12 Days of Christmas. This is another yearly tradition we do with our boys.

It’s never too late to start a new tradition. Do you have any unique traditions you do with your family?

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