Potluck sign-up sheet: free printable

The free printable pack has four pages: a blank sheet, a filled-in sample, a host handoff page and a checklist. It is plain HTML with no signup, and you print it from your browser.

Print in portrait on Letter or A4 at 100%, with browser headers and footers off. Write on the printed lines. The sheet does not save or share entries, so one person keeps it up to date.

Pick one person to own the list, then write the details, the categories and the amounts before anyone signs up. These five steps work on paper, in a spreadsheet or online.

1. Write the event, date, arrival time and place at the top. Add the list owner's name and a "last updated" date.
2. List what the host is already making first, so guests can see what is covered.
3. Add the open items under each category, with a number and a unit, such as "2 bags of ice."
4. Let each guest choose one thing they can manage. Say that bringing something is optional, and that supplies and ice count too.
5. When someone changes their plan, update the main copy, date it and fix any other copies before people shop.

Most potluck sheets use five categories: mains, sides, desserts, drinks and supplies. Add appetizers or breakfast items when the event calls for them.

Our rule of thumb: ask each household for one dish that serves about 8 to 10 people. Guests take a little of many dishes at a potluck, so one dish per household is usually enough.

The table below is our suggested starting split, not a rule. Adjust it for big eaters, kids and how long people will stay.

If a guest wants to bring two things, we suggest a second side before a second dessert. Check the sheet a week before, and ask kindly if anyone with an extra dessert could switch to a side.

Use five columns: category, item and amount, who is bringing it, what is still open, and a note for the host. That is enough to spot gaps and doubles at a glance.

"Two bowls" means less than "two chairs." Ask a cook how big their dish is and whether a serving spoon comes with it. Write down what they tell you.

Check each row on its own; do not add bags, chairs and loaves into one total. A full supply row can sit next to an empty main-dish row.

Take their name off every row they claimed, then work out what is still open in the same unit. This sample list shows the math on one evening.

The other rows check the same way: 6 − 4 = 2 chairs; 2 − 2 = 0 pairs of tongs; 2 − 1 = 1 salad bowl; 3 − 3 = 0 loaves.

Agree on the arrival time, the serving spoon and any fridge or oven needs with each cook. A name on the sheet is not yet a plan for getting the dish onto the table.

If the kitchen cannot take a dish that needs an oven, agree on a different dish before the day. Do not leave a helper to work it out at the door.

Ask each cook to put a small card by their dish with the name, the main ingredients and a "Contains" line for major allergens. The FDA lists nine major food allergens: milk, eggs, fish, crustacean shellfish (such as shrimp, crab and lobster), tree nuts, peanuts, wheat, soybeans and sesame.

A label helps guests choose, but it does not make a dish safe for someone with an allergy. FARE warns that even an invisible trace of food on a spoon can cause a reaction, that serving tongs and ladles get put back in the wrong dish, and that cooking does not remove the risk. Give every dish its own serving spoon, and keep a guest's own allergy talk private and direct.

The USDA says to hold hot food at 140 °F or warmer and cold food at 40 °F or colder, and not to leave perishable food out for more than 2 hours (1 hour above 90 °F). Agree with each cook ahead of time how their dish will stay hot or cold, such as a slow cooker or a bowl of ice.

Give the helper at the door the current sheet and the handoff page, then check each dish against its row as it arrives. A name on the sheet and a dish on the table are not the same thing.

1. Check the "last updated" date together so you both use the same copy.
2. Tick each item and amount as it arrives, and note what actually came.
3. Match each dish with its serving spoon and its fridge or oven spot.
4. Check open rows before anyone goes to the store, so nobody buys a double.
5. After the meal, return marked dishes and borrowed chairs to their owners.

Yes: many invitation and sign-up tools have one, including InviteBird's What to Bring list. Use paper when one person can keep it current, and an online list when guests need to claim and change dishes themselves.

What to Bring has six ready categories: mains, appetizers, sides, desserts, drinks and supplies. Guests claim an item while they RSVP, see only what is still open, and can change or give back a claim later. You and your co-hosts see the names, can move claims around and can download the list as a PDF.

If you are cooking the meal yourself, Menu and Meals lets guests pick a dish as they RSVP and add allergy notes for you to review. Both are included on every plan: design free, pay when you send — from $9.99. The printable sheets stay separate and do not update your online list.

These quick answers cover what people ask most about running a potluck sign-up.