Thanksgiving - How to Accomodate a Crowd

[plunk]

My wife and I love to cook and host Thanksgiving dinner. Unfortunately, we live in a house that is less than 1,000 square feet (no dining room either - just an eat-in kitchen). We've managed to make-do with small guest lists in the past, but this year the list has ballooned to what appears to be an unmanageable amount. Word of our always-outstanding menu has obviously spread.

Anyway, any ideas on how to accomodate a large crowd? Our initial thoughts are as follows:

1. Everybody can just suck it up and eat off their laps

2. Hope for a balmy Virginia Thanksgiving day, set up the outdoor heaters and fireplace and do it outside - just like the Pilgrims!

3. Rent a space at a VFW, church, community center, etc., that will allow us to bring food in (is this even possible? anybody ever do this?)

Any thoughts that you might have will be appreciated. Oh, we're in the Del Ray / Rosemont area of Alexandria. Thanks!

[grover]

You can rent a kitchen from Sur La Table and have your own party. Click here.

Another one, you can find out from the recreation centers in Alexandria City.

[dcs]

If you have a mixture of children and adults, you can try to do two seatings. Kid's first with disposable plates and utensils and then the good stufff for the adults who get to enjoy an extra cocktail or two while the kids eat.

[plunk]

Good suggestions - thanks!

We may actually look into renting one of those giant party tents and heaters. Hopefully it won't be too cold!

[weezy]

Open Kitchen in Falls Church has a commercial kitchen that they rent out that comes with a dining space as well. I think there is a $500 or so deposit plus the hourly rate with a minimum of hours. You could actually do all the cooking onsite in that case. If there are littler ones coming, it might make sense to also haul in a big TV and DVD player to keep them occupied. There isn't anyplace for them to play outside and burn off energy.