Free, no sign-up
Bring a plate sign-up sheet
For any potluck, BBQ or Christmas lunch where everyone brings a plate to share. Make a sheet, share one link, and everyone picks what they're bringing. They can see what's taken, so you won't end up with four pavlovas and no salad.
Bring a plate
Paste it in the group chat or the invite. Anyone with it can add a dish.
Keep this one to yourself. It's the only way back to remove dishes or close the sheet.
The organiser's closed this sheet. Here's what everyone's bringing.
Close it? Nobody can add or take off a dish after that, and you can't reopen it. You can still remove dishes yourself.
Nobody yet.
A bring a plate list everyone can see
Whether you call it bring a plate, a plate to share, a share plate or a potluck, the trouble's the same. Everyone guesses, and the table ends up lopsided. This sheet sorts the food by course, shows what's taken, and stops a section once it's full. It's free, and nobody needs an account to add a dish.
How it works
- Make the sheet. Give it a title and a date, and add sections like Mains, Salads and Desserts. Put a limit on any you don't want overloaded.
- Share one link. Drop it in the group chat or the invite. Nobody needs an account.
- Everyone picks a dish. They add their name and what they're bringing, and see what's already taken. A full section stops taking dishes.
- You stay in charge. Your organiser link removes any dish and closes the sheet when the list is sorted.
How we work it out
The planner's numbers are rules of thumb, not science. Nudge the limits if your lot eats like a footy team.
- One plate per couple or household. That's one plate for every 2 guests, rounded up, so 21 guests bring 11.
- Guests bring it all: nibbles 20%, mains 30%, salads and sides 30%, desserts 20% of the plates.
- You're doing the main: nibbles 25%, salads and sides 50%, desserts 25%. Guests fill the table around your BBQ meat, roast or ham.
- The shares are rounded so the limits add up to exactly the plates coming. Any plates left over go to the section closest to earning one.
- Every guest gets a serving of every course. So each plate in a course feeds the guests divided by that course's plates, rounded up. Courses with fewer plates get bigger ones. For 20 guests that's about 10 a plate for nibbles and desserts, and 7 for mains and salads.
- With your main, salads and sides count 2 servings each, because everyone takes two with the meat. For 30 guests that's about 9 a salad plate and 8 a dessert.
- Drinks sit on top with no limit, because in Australia drinks usually come as well as the plate, not instead of it.
- The planner takes 7 to 100 guests. 7 is the smallest group whose plates reach every course, so for a smaller lunch just add the sections you want. A sheet holds up to 12 sections and 100 dishes, and a limit can be anything from 1 to 100.
Tips for the organiser
Do the main yourself if you can. A main is the hardest dish to carry and the one you can least do without. Guests are happy to bring the salads around it.
Cap the desserts. Sweet things are easy to buy on the way, so that section fills first. A limit sends the next person to the salads.
Say what's already sorted. Use the note for what you're providing, like the meat, the bread or the drinks, so nobody doubles up.
Ask about dietary needs. A gluten-free or vegetarian dish or two means everyone has something to eat. Guests can put it in the dish name, like GF brownies.
Close it the day before. Then copy the list into the group chat so everyone knows the plan.
Check the total before you split it. Not sure how much food the whole party needs? The party food calculator works out the spread and the drinks for your numbers. Then use the sheet to share it out.
Questions
How many dishes do I need for a bring-a-plate lunch for 20?
About 10, one for each couple or household. Split them 2 nibbles, 3 mains, 3 salads and sides and 2 desserts, and leave drinks open. Ask each plate to feed about 10 for nibbles, 7 for mains, 7 for salads and sides and 10 for desserts.
I'm doing the BBQ meat. What should everyone else bring?
The rest of the table. For 30 people that's 15 plates: 4 nibbles, 7 salads and sides and 4 desserts. Salads and sides get the biggest share, because everyone takes two with the meat.
How much food should each plate be?
Enough that everyone gets a serving of each course, so it depends how many plates share it. For 20 guests bringing everything, a nibbles or dessert plate feeds about 10 and a main or salad about 7, because there are more of those. If you're doing the BBQ for 30, a salad or side feeds about 9, because everyone takes two with the meat.
What does bring a plate mean?
Bring a dish of food to share, not an empty plate. It's the Aussie way of saying potluck, and you'll also see plate to share or share plate. In some circles it means bring your own meat for the BBQ, so if that's what you're after, say so in the invite. Either way, a sign-up sheet means nobody has to guess.
Can people change what they're bringing?
Yes. Anyone can take their own dish off from the phone they added it on, then add something else. From your organiser link you can remove any dish, and close the sheet when the list is done.
Is it free, and how long do you keep it?
Yes, it's free with no sign-up, for up to 100 dishes across 12 sections. Everything is deleted 60 days after your date, or 90 days after you made the sheet if it has no date.