Wiser Living

Via Soup Night

Hosting a soup party or “soup night” in your neighborhood is a great way to build community and friendships. It doesn’t have to be fancy or complicated, just a fun night for neighbors to enjoy a warm bowl of deliciousness filled with an array of healthful, nutritious ingredients. Here are a few tips to help you organize your very own soup party.

Find a partner-in-crime. Recruit a close neighbor to help you plan and prepare.

Set a date. You will want to give people 1 to 2 weeks notice. Weekends usually work best.

Distribute invitations. Hand them out personally or leave them at the door. Keep invitations simple and invite everyone.

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Once you have invited the neighborhood, it’s time to start planning your soup party. Keep it laid back and don’t stress over making it perfect. We have gathered ideas from successful soup nights to help you along the way.

Soup Party Ideas

• Make the soups ahead of time and save yourself the stress of preparing everything the day of. Made-ahead soups can be warmed on the stove and ready to serve in no time.

• Skip the waste of disposable bowls—or the pile of dishes—by asking attendees to bring their own bowl and spoon.

• Instead of one person cooking all of the soup, try a potluck soup night; ask each neighbor to bring one bowl of soup and have a recipe swap.

• Host a soup night for a good cause. Soup is casual and has a way of drawing in donors better than a fancy dinner.

• If you aren’t sure where to start in planning which soups to make, check out the following suggestions from Maggie Stuckey’s new book Soup Night.

Photo By Lara Ferroni, Courtesy Storey Publishing

Soup Recipes

Chicken-Artichoke Soup Recipe

Zucchini-Tortellini Soup Recipe

Sweet Corn Chowder Recipe

Slow-Cooker Chili Recipe

Once you’ve held a successful soup night, you can begin to plan how to make it a monthly event. Create a sign-up sheet for neighbors to take turns hosting and set a regular date and time. Have you hosted a soup night? Share your experience in the comments section below.

Adapted from Soup Night by Maggie Stuckey, photography by Lara Ferroni used with permission from Storey Publishing. Buy this book from the Mother Earth Living store: Soup Night.

Victoria Pitcher is Web Editor at Mother Earth Living. Find her on Google+.