AFFORDABLE WAYS TO ENTERTAIN AT HOME

Most South Africans run out of money by the 15th of every month. If you want to cut back on your expenses, you could choose to enjoy time at home instead of going out on expensive weekend adventures. There are plenty of ways to enjoy the weekend without needing to step a foot out of your front door. That’s why it’s so important to find a property that you love spending time in.

But, while it might be easy enough to spend one or two weekends tinkering about at home, tackling household projects and just catching up on some quality down time, eventually the need to socialise will have your wallet beckoning you to its side. To resist its tempting exclamations, you could get creative and find new ways of making your home the place to be for all your friends...  

Host bring & braai’s
Quite conveniently, South Africans’ favourite pastime also happens to be one of the most affordable ways of entertaining. Invite some friends over for a bring & braai. The only thing you’ll need to provide is the fire, some cutlery, and the gees. If you don’t have any outdoor space, then fry some wors on your stove, buy some rolls, switch on the rugby and host an indoor braai.

Throw a blind tasting party 
Another way to lure people to your place is to invite them to a blind wine tasting. In this case, the only thing you’ll need to supply are the wine glasses. Each guest is invited to bring their own bottle of wine which they hand to you upon arrival. As the host, you cover the labels of the bottles (in tin foil, paper, or anything you have at home) and fill everyone’s glasses with mystery wine. Guests then rate each bottle and try and guess the cultivar. At the end of the night, the labels are revealed and the ratings are tallied to reveal which bottle was the crowd favourite. This game works best if there are a variety of price points in the wine selection, as this often leaves any wine snobs in the room rather shocked at the results.

Chocolate or cheese fondue nights
While it’s not the norm to ask your friends to bring ingredients for a meal you’ll share together, it is widely acceptable to ask them to bring their favourite dunking treat for a chocolate or cheese fondue. All you’ll need to supply is a fondue set, some chocolate/cheese and a splash of milk. The great thing about this is that you don’t need a lot of space to host a night like this. If you don’t have a dining room set where everyone can sit around to dip their treats, then set up an Asian-inspired indoor picnic in your lounge or, weather permitting, set up the set in your backyard.

Final Advice
For buyers who want to lower their entertaining expenses, search for a property that allows you to host people at your own homes. This will save you the expense of having to go out every weekend. If you cannot stand the idea of spending time in your current home, it might be time to sell your home and find a new one.