If you're looking for a way to socialize that requires little work or expense and that keeps the party moving all night, then a Progressive Dinner Party may hold the answer for you. At a Progressive Dinner a group of friends plan a meal together where each course is served at a different participant's home, so that the party literally moves from place to place throughout the evening.

This party style works especially well for friends who live close to one another either in a neighbourhood, an apartment building or a condo complex. Then everyone can walk from home to home without worrying about organizing cars and designated drivers. It also facilitates digesting between courses!

When planning your dinner, you should schedule no more than 3-4 courses. Beyond that the logistics become too complicated with too much time wasted on travelling.

Some groups hold monthly Progressive Dinners with a different theme each month. The course responsibilities can be rotated among participants, or everyone can always be responsible for their favourite course. You can pick holiday themes, seasonal themes or different cuisines for each dinner. Tie-in your decorations with the recipes, asking each host home to use decorations representing the nationality of the course they are serving, or picking up on your seasonal theme. Or make the menu items challenging by preparing alphabetical dishes, e.g. the first home prepares an appetizer beginning with the letter A, the second home prepares a main dish beginning with the letter B, and so forth. The next month continue with the letter where you left off in the previous dinner. Good luck to the host who gets the letter X! Whatever you do, have fun with it!

Sometimes organizations such as churches, woman's clubs, or veterans groups hold an annual Progressive Dinner so that new members can meet the group under more intimate circumstances. In that case the planning is usually a little different. Depending on the size of the group, the hors d'oeuvres course is held with everyone gathered in one home or location such as the church or veterans' hall. Then the group splits off into small groups for the next two courses in volunteers' homes. At the end of the evening the whole group reconvenes in a large home or facility to share dessert. If this is the case, some people might be asked to bring appetizers and a side dish, others might prepare a side dish and dessert. The members hosting the main course have no other responsibilities.

You can handle beverages several ways. With small groups you could ask each host to provide the beverage that best suits their course. With larger groups you could make it BYOB for alcoholic beverages and just ask the hosts to provide soft drinks and coffee.