Tips for Ramadan Gatherings

Gatherings increase during special occasions, especially in the holy month of Ramadan.

There are some important tips you must heed before and after the event that will benefit you and save a lot of effort and money.

The most important advice is to be thrifty as much as possible amid the ongoing global economic crisis.

Preserving food is an important necessity of life, so you must prepare a list of foods that will fully benefit you:

* If you need soup for a specific meal, you should rely on a soup that you have made before and not specifically prepare the broth for the guests.

* Salads and appetizers are among the items that consume a lot of time in making, so you should prepare them the night before the gathering.

You can prepare corn salad, coleslaw, and potato salad, unlike green salad, which we just wash and cut. Season the salad with salt, oil, and lemon a few minutes before serving.

* Take the meat that will be cooked from the freezer the night prior and put it in a large bowl. Make sure it's water-free.

*Ensure you have an accurate count of the number of guests that can attend the gathering and set the table the night before.

* It is preferable to set a separate small table with drinks and sweets, as well as place sweets dishes and cups.

The table should be placed a little far from the dining table not to unsettle the invitees.

* If you are a guest, you should ask about the item you should bring with you.

You must tell the host what you will bring to have a place on the table as well as not the item to be brought twice.

* If you are a guest make sure to be present before the iftar, with a sufficient time of half an hour and five minutes, as being late after the iftar leads to chaos in the household, especially with the presence of others who came on time and wanted to break their fast.

Ramadan Kareem

Contributed by Yara Sameh