Celebrate the holidays potluck-style with family and friends on board.
Shared holiday parties aboard are one of the best ways to celebrate the season with cruising friends or to get to know other boaters at a marina. When we wintered our boat in Fort Myers, Florida, we knew no one at the marina. We arrived before Thanksgiving and already missed the planning and excitement of holiday family gatherings. We decided to invite local friends and marina neighbors to a shared Thanksgiving Eve cocktail party on our boat.
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We sent invitations to friends and to boat names in our marina:
Please join MV Seaworthy for a shared Thanksgiving Eve Cocktail Party on November 24th at 7PM. We will provide the boat, liquor, mixers, wine and beer, soft drinks, plates, napkins, forks, cups, warm oven, and a cold seafood tower. Please bring your favorite cocktail, warm or cold finger food or dessert (enough to share with 10 guests), and RSVP by text or email and tell me what you plan to bring. We look forward to seeing you!
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To our delight, the 20 people invited decided to attend. We decorated the boat with yellow and orange flowers, bowls of fruit, gourds and pumpkins, and strung fairy lights. We also streamed holiday music all evening. We made a big paella, and our guests provided pitchers of margaritas and fruity sangria, crudité and charcuterie platters, cocktail meatballs, crab dip, stuffed jalapeños, cookies, fudge, and fruit. It was a feast, and everyone had a blast!
Gather Around the Grill
Another way to approach shared holiday parties is to have a grill party, where the host offers guests a hot boat grill on which to cook their offerings. One New Year’s Eve in Coconut Grove, Florida, we invited a few friends to join us to ring in the New Year. We asked that they each bring something that would be cooked on our boat grill. We ate grilled lollipop lamb chops, skewers of beef, chicken wings, sausages, bacon-wrapped shrimp, even grilled romaine caesar salad. We provided champagne, fruit, chocolate, bread, plates, napkins, forks, and toothpicks.
Sign-up Sheet
Planning a shared holiday party is easy, in my opinion. I usually select a theme (Holiday Eve, Boxing Day, Spanish Tapas) and ask invitees to sign up to bring a specific type of dish to serve half the guests. That way, we have a variety of dishes. I also list a maximum number of specific dishes desired. This prevents an overabundance of one category (e.g., 15 side dishes and no main course). I also list what will be available on the host boat, including main dish, tableware, and drinks. Thus, for a Spanish Tapas party of 20 or so, I would send the following with invitation:
Host boat provides cups, small and large plates, napkins, forks, spoons, toothpicks, soft drinks, wine, and beer. Host oven, grill, and microwave are available for heating appetizers/main courses. Host will serve a seafood paella.
Cocktails to serve 10 (e.g., sangria, margaritas)
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Cold tapas to serve 10 (e.g., manchego cheese, chorizo, pickled peppers, olives)
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Hot tapas to serve 10 (e.g., garlic shrimp, meatballs, seared mushrooms, patatas brava)
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Sides to serve 10 (salad, bread, fruit)
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When guests select an item to bring, the dish is listed, and I can get a count of “who’s bringing what.” This ensures proper proportion of dishes. If too many guests sign up for one category, I contact the last guest to sign up and ask them to choose from another category.
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Shared Boat Holiday Party Tips:
If you are building a menu around a theme, list what you will make and offer menu suggestions.
- Build your guest list and menu to comfortably fit your space and seating. Serve food that requires a knife and fork ONLY if your guests sit at a table; otherwise, serve finger foods and fork-only dishes so they can stand or sit.
- Let everyone know how many people their dish should serve.
- Keep track what everyone is bringing to ensure an assortment of flavors.
- Be sure there is enough oven space for cooking or heating dishes; otherwise, ask for cooked, cold, or room-temperature dishes.
- Ask guests to print the name of their dish and note major ingredients, such as nuts or other allergens, on an index card by their dish. Nothing ruins a party quicker than an emergency trip to the hospital.
- For attractive décor, stack mix-and-match plates and napkins to add a colorful element to your table, and place food on pedestals (bowls or small boxes turned upside down and covered with colorful napkins) for visual appeal. Enhance the serving table with fairy lights, votive candles, flowers, or plants.
There is also etiquette that attendees who are making dishes should follow, both to help the host and to avoid losing dishes and serveware:
- With your dish, include proper serving utensils.
- Label your name underneath your dish and utensil, in case you leave them.
- If reheating/cooking is needed, inform the host of the temperature/amount of time.
- Look for alternatives to food storage containers to serve your dish (baskets, pretty bowls, wooden bowls, and platters).
Boat-Friendly Recipes
My Favorite Easy Seafood Paella (serves 6 for dinner or 10-12 for cocktail party)
3 Tbsp. oil
4 oz. Spanish chorizo, chopped
1 cup onion, diced
1 tsp. garlic, minced
1 cup each diced tomato and sweet pepper
¼ tsp ground saffron or turmeric (optional)
2 cups uncooked rice*
1 tsp. each salt and pepper
5 cups hot broth (chicken, fish, or vegetable)
½ cup peas or 1 cup chopped green beans or halved artichoke hearts
1 lb. clams in shell (or 4 oz. canned clams and juice)
8 oz. each shrimp, scallops**
2 lemons, cut into wedges
Heat oil in a large, shallow skillet over medium-high heat. Sauté chorizo, onion, garlic, tomatoes, and peppers for 5 minutes. Add saffron, rice, salt, pepper, and broth. Bring to medium-low simmer, cover with a lid, and cook for 15-20 minutes until the rice is tender. (If the rice is still firm after 20 minutes, cook 5 more minutes). When tender, top rice with peas and seafood. Cover and cook for 5 minutes, uncover, and serve in the warm skillet with lemon wedges.
* For a faster paella, use 3-4 cups of packaged cooked rice and 1½ cups of broth, and cook rice just 5 minutes to infuse flavor.
** Alternatively, use chicken, sausage, or other seafood.
Traditional Red Sangria (serves 8)
1 lemon, seeded and sliced
1 apple, cored and chopped
1 orange, seeded, sliced with peel
¼ cup sugar (or more)
⅔ cup brandy
Two 750 ml bottles of dry Spanish red wine or pinot noir*
Add fruit and sugar to a large pitcher with brandy and mix well to dissolve sugar. Add red wine and stir to incorporate. Add ice and chill.
* If you prefer white sangria, use equivalent amount of white wine.
-by Lori Ross
FAQ - People Also Ask:
How many people should each dish serve? Aim for ~10 per dish to keep portions balanced.
What if oven space is limited? Request cold or room-temp items; stagger hot dish arrivals; use grill if allowed.
What serving gear should guests bring? Their own labeled utensil plus any special platter/basket.
How do we handle allergies? Place a card with dish name and major allergens; keep nut/shellfish items on a separate tier.
Knife-and-fork entrées? Only if everyone is seated; otherwise stick to finger foods and fork-only small plates.
