Can You Have A Holiday Party for $100? The ALDI Challenge

I love to entertain.

Seriously…love the entertain.

Part of why I love it is because I avoid holiday party stress and I follow all of my rules for entertaining with less stress.

So when ALDI asked me if I would be willing to accept the challenge of throwing a Holiday Party for 10 people for $100.00…I picked up the gauntlet.

I’ve believed for a long time that ALDI is a great place to shop and I have a list of the things to buy at ALDI, but I have never served exclusively ALDI items at one of my gatherings. So I was looking forward to trying a few new things, getting creative on some old things, and enjoying a great evening with friends.

So here are the details:

The Party

I decided to have Friday Afternoon Club Party from 4 – 7 pm. People were encouraged to come and go as they needed…stay for 15 minutes or stay for three hours. In addition, I allowed everyone’s kiddos to come, so no one had to worry about a sitter.

The Food

I chose to have a wine, cheese, appetizer and dessert party.

The Menu

I had seven cheeses, two hummus, pita chips, multiple kinds of crackers, a Caramelized Onion Tart with Swiss & Bacon, Party Poppers, Chocolate Pecan Pie Shooters, mini-cheesecakes, dark chocolate squares, and profiteros.

The Drinks

In addition to having water, I served Diamonte Malbec, Sunshine Bay Sauvignon Blanc, Willa Malizia Pinot Grigio, Landshut Riesling, Burlwood Merlot, Chianti, Brut Sparkling Wine, and Prosecco Sparkling Wine.

The Conclusion

I was spent too much. I was over $4.00. (See below)

However, the party was a success.

These were the most common comments:

• “That wine is from ALDI?”
• “You did ALL of this for $100.00.”
• “Oh. My. Word….these Chocolate Pecan Pie Shooters are amazing!”
• “I love cheese. And crackers.”
• “This hummus is awesome.”
• “Yes, you can have another piece of dark chocolate.”

It was a great night.

The adults had a great time. (Most people didn’t leave after 15 minutes…but stayed for the whole three hours.) The kids got along AMAZING well…in fact there were a couple of impromptu sleepovers because they didn’t want the fun to end. We learned new things about each other…like someone has an amazing singing voice and can do a killer rendition of Elton John’s “Saturday Night Is All Right” .

It was everything I wanted it to be and everything I needed it to be.

I broke bread with people I care about, drank a couple of glasses of wine, laughed till my sides hurt, and got hugs from little ones because “this is the best house ever.”

I’d say it was $100 that was really well spent.

Price Breakdown

$2.69 – Aged White Cheddar
$3.44 – Jarleberg Cheese
$2.99 – Apple Harvest Cheddar
$3.49 – Welsh Cheddar
$2.99 – Cranberry Cheddar
$2.99 – Double Cream Brie
$2.99 – English Cheese
$2.49 – Assorted Crackers
$1.99 – Pita Chips
$1.99 – Pita Crackers
$2.49 – Dried Figs
$1.69 – Hummus
$1.69 – Hummus
$2.49 – Slivered Almonds
$5.89 – Thick Sliced Bacon
$4.99 – Chianti
$8.99 – Prosecco
$7.99 – Brut Sparkling Wine
$4.99 – Burlwood Merlot
$4.99 – Landshut Riesling
$4.99 – Villa Malizia Pinto Grigio
$6.99 – Sunshine Bay Sauvignon Blanc
$4.99 – Diamonte Malbec
$3.99 – Pecan Pie
$2.99 – Dark Chocolate Squares
$4.99 – Profitero
$5.99 – Petite Cheesecake
$104.20 – Total 

Disclosure: I’m a ALDI Super Fan and received $100 to host this Holiday party, but I was not compensated in any other way. The written remarks are entirely my own. Want more information – check out my full disclosure statement.