Frugal Fiesta

Everyone who knows me knows I love a party, and what better day to start planning my summer roof-raiser than a warm day in early May? Tomorrow the Frugal Friends will be meeting to clip and exchange coupons as is their monthly tradition. This month the theme is going to be throwing summer parties on the cheap.It's just about Cinco de Mayo, and Memorial Day is around the corner--to be honest, though, with gorgeous weather like we've had this week, who needs an extra reason to celebrate?

For learn-it-yourselfers we have a few books that have some great insight into planning a memorable and inexpensive summer party. Do It For Less: Parties has tips for frugal parties of up to fifty guests, and Parties, Potlucks and Barbecues offers many creative summer party ideas.

If you're interested in throwing a great summer party for less, though, you couldn't do better than to join our Frugal Friends Club. Staff members Michelle Meyer-Edley and Lynne Rubio are the front-women and they work tirelessly to make sure they have sound and useful advice to disperse at meetings. Here's a sampling of some of the tips Michelle will be discussing tomorrow for inexpensive party planning.

• Kabobs are a great idea to serve at a summer party or barbecue; they're really fun, everyone loves them, they're low-maintenance to cook, and you use a lot less meat and more vegetables, which saves money.
• Buying meat with the bone-in will save you money because these cuts are typically priced lower, and they're actually typically juicier than cuts that have had the bones removed before purchase. 
• If you're going to make hamburgers don't buy pre-formed patties. They're a lot more expensive and they won't taste as good. Buying the ground beef and forming the patties yourself gives you the option to flavor them as you like--also, feel free to buy the cheaper stuff, because even though it usually is fattier when you take it home from the deli, all of the fat drips out in the barbecue, so neither you nor your guests will actually be eating any of it.

The May meeting takes place tomorrow, Saturday, May 4th at 11:00 in the friends Meeting Room C. You can register by calling Readers' Services or stopping by the 3rd floor desk. Drop-Ins are also welcome. If you can't make it, stop by our Frugal Friends pinterest page for ideas to save money in all sorts of creative ways.

The June meeting will include a recipe swap, so if you're planning to come to the May event bring a favorite summer recipe so we can print it up and share it in June.

Summer party season is nearly here, so let's have a hotdog and play some volleyball in the back-yard. You bring the buns and I'll bring the ketchup. See you there!