Treat yourself to a night off from dinner prep and your family to an exciting new meal.

With all the great cooks around, why not ask a few of them to band together and offer a meal a week for a month? If four families get together, each can put together one meal for the month. The meals could be based on a theme - such as Around the World in 8 Weeks - offering 8 weeks of meals from different countries (Mexican one week, Chinese the next...). Another fun theme is a "color," having the whole meal be orange one week, red the next... Pre-school and kindergarten kids really love these simple themes and they can be a lot of fun to think up!

Here's how it works:

1. The winning bidder and donors coordinate to decide on what nights their meals will be delivered. (For example, every Tuesday in May by 5pm.) The Winner will also want to let the Donors know of any allergies or food dislikes.  

2. On the appointed day, the bidder sets out a cooler on their porch and arrives home in the evening to find a tasty meal, complete with dessert, all ready and waiting. (When I have made these meals, make double - one half for my brood and one half to be delivered.)

3. It is easiest if all the items are in throw-away containers or ones that do not need to be returned. You can even spice it up by including an inexpensive pan or serving tray as part of the delivery. This can make the evening  even more festive if the servingware are themed with the food. A fun new item for the Bidder to receive, and, as the donor, you will not need to worry about having your platter... returned.