Seven Cheap Foods to Serve at your Party

If you are having either a Christmas party or a New Years Eve party, you'll want to serve food that your guests will love. But you don't have to break the bank while filling your friends bellies. Here are seven foods that Money Smart Life says that you should consider for your holiday party:

Chocolate Fondue: Melt some milk chocolate and add light cream and vanilla extract to keep the chocolate from getting lumpy. Then, pick four items as dippers. Serve the fondue in a cool dish, and you’ve got a great dessert that looks like a professional did it.

Mini Crab Cakes: Look for a recipe online to make these wonderful appetizers. The only pricey part of this dish is the crab meat, and the rest is chopped vegetables, mayonnaise and bread crumbs.

Chili: Most people love chili, and it’s easy and cheap to make. Use your favorite recipe, and serve it in punch-style, plastic cups. To give it some extra flare, provide all of the extras such as oyster crackers, sour cream, cheese, and croutons.

Baked Brie: Make a baked ball of brie in the oven with your choice of topping to bake it with. Almonds are always a good choice. Instead of serving it with crackers, use fresh slices of french bread.

Chocolate Covered Strawberries: If you don’t do chocolate fondue, then you can easily make chocolate covered strawberries for an elegant look and a crowd favorite. To keep this dish cheaper, look for strawberries in bulk at your local farmer’s market or produce stand.

Spinach and Artichoke Dip: All of these ingredients are cheap and the recipe is nothing more than throwing a bunch of ingredients together and baking it. It’s one of my favorite dips. Serve it with pumpernickel bread cubes and/or crackers.

Pigs In a Blanket: Okay, this one might not look to elegant when you serve it, but they are always one of the first items gone when we make them at parties. To dress this dish up a little bit, offer different dipping sauces like honey dijon dressing, honey mustard, ranch dressing, and nacho cheese.