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5 Reasons You Need Supper Club In Your Life

07

Two Christmases ago, my dear friend gifted me with a book called “For the Love” by Jen Hatmaker.  Inside the book, she had written a sweet card telling me what my friendship had meant to her over the last few years.  The last thing she wrote was, “P.S.  We definitely need to start a supper club!” 
Having not yet read the book (or even heard of it), I had no idea what she was talking about.  Fast forward to today…and supper club is one of the things I look forward to most every. single. month.  
Are you familiar with the concept of supper club?  I mean, it sounds pretty simple, right?  It’s a group of people who have supper together.  Regularly.  In the book, Jen raves about her supper club, about the food, about the people, about the friendship and connection that happens when great people gather to eat food together.  Like, she raves about it to the point where my friend’s main takeaway from an amazing book about God and life and such is “we should totally do this!”  
I couldn’t be more thankful for those words.  

As soon as I finished the book, I texted her and a couple other friends and said “Ok, let’s start supper club.”  I also texted them a picture of the entire page of Jen Hatmaker’s “Supper Club Rules” which I may or may not have highlighted large portions of – I’m surprised they still wanted to hang with me after that, but ahem, one of the rules is you must bring wine and I just wanted to make sure everyone was aware.  ðŸ˜‰
Our little SC crew has been meeting monthly now for a year and a half.  I can honestly say it has changed three things for the better: my friendships with these dear people, my faith, and my life. Supper club has been such an amazing blessing to me that I want to share 5 reasons why you, too, need it in your life.
1.  SC is a night out!  For the love!  Who doesn’t love a good night out on the town?  The only thing better is a night out that is FREE (well, with the exception of the bottle of wine you brought), and with people that you dearly, dearly love.  Supper club rotates hosts every month, so for our crew that means 3/4 months, I’m just showing up at someone’s house, sittin’ down, and having a delicious dinner served to me.  Another rule of supper club is:  no one is allowed helping with dishes!  We have for real barked at each other if someone other than the host tries to so much as clear the table. Why?  Because 3/4 of the time, it is supposed to be a NIGHT OUT. Adults neeeeeeed it.  Couples neeeeed it.  People need to be cared for and served sometimes, and SC gives everyone a turn to serve and be served.  Also, I happen to have ridiculously talented cooks in my SC and there have been multiple occasions where I look around a table, gorgeously set with mouthwatering food and see the smiling faces of my nearest and dearest and can’t help but say, “No one in even the fanciest restaurant in our town is having a better night than we are tonight.”  All for the price of a bottle of wine, Besties!  

2.  SC is scheduled connection.  At the risk of beating a dead horse, connection is so, so, SO important.  And connection, like self care, doesn’t just happen.  We have to start taking control of our schedules, planning our time with loved ones.  It sounds like a lot of work, or super Type A, but I’m telling you, if we don’t plan it, these types of things are usually the first thing to go by the wayside.  Our group knows that pretty much as soon as one SC comes to a close, the very next day the ladies of SC are texting about when the next one will be.  Bonus: supper club is definitely a form of hygge, so you know I’m all about it. 
3.  SC allows you to share life as it happens.  Life is crazy sometimes.  So much can happen in a day, week, month…and we need people to share our stuff with.  Yes, when major life events happen, we may call our Besties who live far away to update them.  If we’re very good about keeping in touch, we definitely give them the highlight reel every so often.  But when you are meeting monthly for SC, you often get to share the day-to-day stuff also. The people you meet with regularly, face to face, they are the ones who get to hear about your parenting fails, your scary doctor’s appointment, your kid’s playground woes, your kid’s face when he met Pluto at Disney World, your latest speaking engagement, your embarrassing moment at the grocery store.  And even when it’s hard…that’s the good stuff.  

4.  SC invites vulnerability.  Being vulnerable is the stuff that deep friendship is made of.  When you are meeting together monthly, there’s no facades.  There’s no appearances.  You just get real or die tryin’.  But the good news is, these people gathered around the table?  They are your people.  They know you, the good, the bad, and the…not so pretty.  They have seen your house a mess, they have seen you a mess, and they aren’t going anywhere.  And not just because supper club is a binding contract that extends into eternity (kidding…kind of).  You see what I’m saying…these SC folks are your Besties.

5.  SC is delicious.  This probably should have been #1.  I mean…because of supper club, I have eaten some deeeeelish meals in the past 18 months.  Amazing tacos, a full Thanksgiving dinner, beef bourginon, a brunch to die for (yep, because we made SC a BC one time, what of it?), and authentic osso bucco.  Osso freaking bucco!  I didn’t make any of the above things, but was served them by my amazing friends who give Giada a run for her money.  They, unfortunately must put up with my average-level cooking skills. Thankfully, they’re good sports about it.  And on the upside, if anyone needs therapy at dinner, they’re in good company.  

So what do you think, Besties?  Are you up for starting a supper club?  Do you already have one?  What’s your favorite thing about it?

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  1. What a great idea! You have some smart friends!

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