Do you ever wish you just had some help?

I don't know about you, but this time of year is busy for me. I've got work, my Mary Kay business, and my book reviews. Plus church, AWANA, and spending time with friends. Somehow, I'll manage to work my Christmas shopping into the mix. And then there's the parties.

I am the "social event" coordinator for my Small Group Bible Study. Basically that means that I coordinate who brings what for when we have an event (picnic, dinner, party, etc).So planning these events has been rather interesting. We'd send emails back and forth to see who was bringing what. Then it never fails. Someone would bring something other than what they'd sign up for and we'd be without plates or something like that.

I also coordinate meal schedules when a class member has a new baby or is out recovering from surgery or something like that. And once again, a lot of responsibility fell on my shoulders. I'd send an email out to the person the day before to remind them. And then when they couldn't make it or forgot, I'd have to scramble to put something together.

A year or so ago, one of my friends introduced me to Perfect Potluck. This is a free online tool that makes event planning easy. You get to set the date, plan the menu, tell how many you need of each item, and then Viola! I had an easy schedule that all I had to do was send the link out and people could sign up for what they wanted to bring. It even would send an email out to remind me of what I signed up to bring. My Small Group has been using this for a while now. We find it very easy to use. I'm thinking it would work for the family get togethers where everyone brings a different dish. Or for the potluck parties. Anyway, I'm so glad that my friend told me about it. Check out the sample that is on the site.

There is a sister site to the Perfect Potluck called Take Them A Meal. I absolutely love this site! I mentioned earlier that I would send out an email reminder to the person the day before to remind them that they were scheduled to bring a meal on such and such date. I found out when my friend had her first baby that it took a lot of time on my part to ensure that meals got there. What I love about this site, is that it allows me to set the schedule, delete dates as needed, and I don't have to send out the emails. My Small Group is currently providing meals for one of the ladies who just had surgery. Before I set the schedule up, I talked with my friend to find out what they like to eat, allergies, etc. As I was setting up the schedule, I was able to put in the notes section the things they are allergic to and what they like to eat. It was so easy! Those who wanted to sign up, could, and those who didn't, they didn't have to. As the coordinator, I get an email every day with the reminder that this person is bringing the meal.

I'll definitely be using it again at the end of April/May when my friend has her third baby.

So snag the links, bookmark them, and use them when you need to. Even those who aren't internet savvy have found it easy to use.

Try it out. Tell me what you think.