Potluck Sign Up Sheet (free, online)

How to set it up

A potluck sheet is really a menu with names next to it. The categories matter more than the dishes: three or four mains, more sides than mains, a few desserts, bread, and drinks. Put a count on each category and let people write what they're bringing. Then add the part everyone forgets: two people to set up tables and turn on the coffee, and three to wash serving dishes and take out the trash afterward.

The mistake is an open list where everyone writes 'dessert'. You get eleven desserts and no vegetables. Counts per category fix that; when 'sides' fills, the next person sees only what's still open. One tip: ask people to bring their dish in a serving container with a serving spoon and their name on tape underneath. The cleanup crew will get the dishes home.

Questions people ask

How much food per person?

Ask each dish to serve twelve. For a group of 60, plan on about 20 dishes total across mains, sides and desserts. People eat less at a potluck than you'd think because they take a little of everything.

Should people say what they're bringing?

Yes. Add a text question at signup, 'What are you bringing?', so you can see the actual menu. If four people write 'deviled eggs', you can gently ask one to switch.

What about dietary needs?

Add a row for a vegetarian main and one for a gluten-free side so they're guaranteed. And ask bringers to write ingredients on a card next to the dish. It takes a minute and saves someone a bad evening.

Why not a paper sheet or a Google Form?

A paper sheet lives in one place and fills up with the first people who walk past it. A Google Form takes forty signups for a row that needed two, and you find out in the spreadsheet. An online sign-up sheet closes each row when it's covered, sends a reminder the day before, and gives every person a link to cancel so the spot reopens. See the side-by-side with Google Forms.