Tara Noland hosts dinner parties at her Calgary home at least once a month, plus for almost every Super Bowl and much more often over the holidays.

Entertaining at home instead of shelling out for pricey restaurant meals is often the advice given to people looking to reign in their spending. A full-blown dinner party with multiple courses, decorative centrepieces and signature cocktails can seem costly, but food bloggers for whom hosting is old hat say it鈥檚 possible to do for about $10 a person.

鈥淚 think planning ahead is key,鈥� said Noland, who just celebrated the seven-year anniversary of her blog, Noshing with the Nolands.

The Calgarian starts to think about her events weeks in advance.

鈥淚 think one of the worst things is having a dinner party and you鈥檙e not participating in it because you鈥檙e in the kitchen cooking.鈥�

Preparation can also result in savings if you scour for sales at grocery stores or even dollar stores for decoration.

Frozen turkey or chicken that can be slow cooked is easy to snag at a discount, said Idriss Amraoui, a 29-year-old in Montreal who runs the blog Broke Foodies.

He also suggests using cheaper and versatile frozen vegetables that can be whipped into a starter, like soup.

It鈥檚 not necessary to do multiple courses though, and appetizers are often just a bonus when Amraoui hosts.

Entertainers can avoid being saddled with the whole food bill by asking guests to contribute a specific dish or turning the event into a potluck. In the event of the latter, Amraoui stresses guests must be aware it鈥檚 a potluck before they鈥檙e asked to commit.

鈥淚 wouldn鈥檛 tell you, 鈥楥ome have dinner at my house,鈥� and then tell you, 鈥榃ell, can you bring your potato salad?鈥欌�� he said.

Lisa Bolton鈥檚 secret to affordable entertaining is creative grazing boards. The food stylist selects one killer cheese and loads of seasonal vegetables. She鈥檒l slice a fresh baguette and one artisanal salami into thin pieces to make them last longer.

Even dessert can come atop a board. Rather than buying a whole cake or baking something elaborate, Bolton opts to set out some chocolate bars, strawberriesand other treats.

A beautifully crafted board also eliminates the pressure for decor, she said, as it functions as a centrepiece.

If hosts want to serve a full meal instead, she suggests looking at brunch instead of dinner.

鈥淓ggs are pretty affordable,鈥� she said, though she tends to gravitate to a big bagel spread.

The biggest budget item though, depending on the crowd, may be alcohol. All three foodies estimated they could pull off a budget-conscious dinner party for $10 a head or less with the caveat of imbibing coming at an extra cost.

They diverge on the appropriate hosting etiquette to tackle that problem.

鈥淚f you鈥檙e hosting, you鈥檙e hosting,鈥� said Bolton of her mindset. She tends to stick any bottle of wine brought by a guest into her cellar for future use.

Instead, she鈥檒l serve one bespoke cocktail that can be diluted with juice to make more.

Noland also creates a cocktail that she鈥檒l serve guests right away, but said it鈥檚 OK to designate the event bring-your-own-beer or give guests inquiring what they can bring a specific type of alcohol, like a bottle of white wine.

When Amraoui hosts, he finds it important to have at least one bottle of wine on hand, but said the expectation shouldn鈥檛 be for the host to supply an open bar.

鈥淚 think that the guests usually without even asking will bring a bottle or two and you will end up with more alcohol than you need at the end of the evening,鈥� he said.

Aleksandra Sagan, The Canadian Press

Like us on and follow us on .