Fox News contributor Joey Jones discusses the latest trend among younger Americans to host at-home dinner parties for friends and family instead of going out to eat amid high inflation.
According to Evite, searches for dinner parties have increased 148% compared to last year, showing that Millennials and Gen Zers are shifting in a new culinary direction complete with ‘tablescapes’ and themed experiences for their guests.
“They didn’t invent the dinner party all right, back off – that’s the one thing I have an issue with here. It’s like they think, ‘oh, well, I’m getting up at 5 a.m..’ No, yeah, it’s called getting up early. People have been doing it as long as there have been humans. You didn’t invent any of that, but I do think it’s great. Yes, save money, have a potluck, and that’s how all these people can learn to cook and be great homemakers,” co-host Kennedy said on the ‘The Big Weekend Show.’
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“I just have a hard time believing this is actually happening where they’re doing it the old-fashioned way. Maybe I’m wrong, and I am apologizing to any Millennials that are doing actual dinner parties, but I don’t see it happening,” Fox News correspondent Griff Jenkins added.
As inflation continues to rise, younger generations are getting creative and finding cheaper alternatives to spend time with family and friends.
Joey Jones said, “I love this idea. I host people at my house. Usually I’m going to go pick up barbecue at the barbecue restaurant, but the drinks are a lot cheaper than they are out at the bar, [and] there are these companies now helping them set it up.”
“These Millennials, unless you can DoorDash charcuterie trays and centerpiece things, they’re not going out and creating it Martha Stewart-style with a cheap budget,” Jenkins said.
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“I love the idea of the dinner party. But then there at the end, we saw, really they’re just doing it to post on social media,” Jones continued.
Kennedy chimed in, “They’re doing everything to post on social media. I mean, you don’t even have to say that part, because you can just assume that, Gen Zers especially, they can only live online.”
“I like this. I like going to dinner parties, [but] I don’t like hosting them. I have a one bedroom, there’s not a lot of space to have people [over],” Fox News contributor Lisa Boothe added.
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She continued, “I know you guys are Instagram shoppers, I certainly am. I had a holiday party and my daughter got a styrofoam form, a conical form, and made charcuterie with little mozzarella balls and olives, and it looked like a Christmas tree, and that’s from Instagram.”
“It’s like all the drinks in the party. The sparkly martinis were all from Instagram, so they’re getting great ideas,” Kennedy said.
Jones continued, “I think we just have to accept the media part of this generation, but if they’re doing things that connect them together, we’ll give them [an applause].”
