Burns Night Supper
So my husband and I did a thing we never in a million years thought we’d do.
We hosted a dinner party for twenty in our home.
And not just any dinner party, mind you. No, we had a full-on Burns Night Supper!
Do you know what a Burns Night Supper is? Well, let me enlighten you if you don’t!
Every year on January 25, Scots all over the world—and especially in Scotland—celebrate the birthday of Robert Burns, or Rabbie Burns, as he is informally known. If you still are scratching your head, Robert Burns was an eighteenth-century Scottish poet. He died young but wrote a ton of poetry. You’d recognize many of them, I promise, but perhaps the most well-known is “Auld Lang Syne,” you know, the song you sing on New Year’s Eve as the ball drops.
Anyway, ever since our trip to Scotland a couple of years ago and discovering through Ancestry DNA testing that we both have a high percentage of Scottish genes, Jeff has wanted to host a Burns Night. And when he realized January 25th was on a Saturday night this year, he decided it was time.
Ok, so a little bit about us. We are not party people. We are both introverts, although he plays an extrovert sometimes at work. We certainly not “let’s throw a party” people. At. All. But once Jeff latches onto an idea, he is all in.
The first decision was invitations. Yep, we sent them through the mail. But guess what? He designed and ordered them! Of course, it helps that all those sites have examples of every kind of invitation, even Burns Night. He ordered twelve.
“Twelve couples?” I tried not to sound panicked. “You know that’s twenty-six people including us.”
“They won’t all say yes,” he said. “We’ll have two or three couples, max. It will be fine.
We ended up sending eleven invitations. Nine couples said yes.
So . . . food. Jeff wanted to go traditional, so he found a Scottish bakery in Michigan that ships. He ordered haggis, sausage rolls, neeps and tatties, and shortbread. We filled in with oatcakes from another online store, clotted cream, mashed potatoes, broccoli, salmon, and (thank you, Costco) shepherd’s pie.
For dessert, he made ice cream to go with the shortbread (some servings of ice cream may have had whisky stirred in) and cranachan, a traditional Scottish dessert that is basically whipped cream and raspberry layers, with some toasted oats and whisky thrown in the whipped cream!
Let’s just say no one went hungry! Or thirsty. Along with the traditional whisky, we also bought some of the second best-selling drink in Scotland—a soft drink called Irn Bru for our guests to try. We had plenty of Scotch and Irn Bru left over after everyone who wanted to try it did. Side note: Jeff and I went to the liquor store for the first time in our lives to buy it. We had no idea what to get, so we bought the bottle with a picture of Robert Burns on it, lol!
Finally, Jeff was determined to bring a traditional Scottish feel to the night. He had a playlist of bagpipe music for “piping in the guests” and “piping in the haggis.” He had a playlist of Scottish folk music for dinner music. He picked out several Burns poems to read.
He bought—and wore!—a kilt! (Yes, I bought some plaid pants, but they were on clearance and I’ve been wanting some to wear to Christmas parties for a while now!) He also got us Burns Night t-shirts to complete the outfits.
Our guests joined in the fun. Several people wore plaid clothing. They also took their turns reading a Burns poem—some even attempting an accent. One of our friends played a traditional hornpipe song on his violin. When it came time to do the traditional “Toast to the Lassies” and the “Lassies reply,” Chat GPT joined the party! Of course, I think this part is where the Scots have an advantage after consuming so much whisky prior to the festivities, but I think our crew had a great time without being tipsy.
Lots of poems.
Lots of toasts.
Lots of laughter.
It was a very fun night, but we were exhausted when it was all done! Thankfully, my sister and brother-in-law insisted on staying and helping us put our house back together before we headed to bed.
My husband declared this the “first annual.” Me? I still a bit wary of trying this again. Partly because I know that the guest list will get bigger. But I’ll cross that bridge next December, when he brings it up again.
Have you ever hosted a large dinner party at your house? Have you ever heard of or participated in a Burns Night Supper? Have you ever tried haggis?
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Oh my goodness!! Does this sound fun!! Wish I lived closer and I’d finangle an invitation for next year. I’ve been to Scotland and love all things Scottish. Thanks for sharing this with us.
If you lived closer I’d make that invitation happen! 🙂
“They won’t all say yes” LOL They will next year! HA! Sounds like a fun time. With a family the size of mine, just a simple gathering winds up being around 20… but it just so happens my house is on the small side so I usually get out of hosting. Such a shame. [wink wink]
Ha! Yes. And I know what you mean about family. Usually our family get-togethers are 20-30, but my sister’s house is bigger than mine, so she hosts. 🙂
This is SO awesome, D’Ann. ESPECIALLY since you are both introverts. Haha! But I love how it all turned out. And that it’s now “the first annual.”
Yes, we’ve hosted big groups. In fact, every time our family all gets together there are 24 of us! But that’s not exactly a sit-down dinner party with a theme. Huge kudos to you for pulling this off! I love it!
Yes, the family get-togethers (ours usually run 20-30 when everyone is in town) are very different. First, they are either at my mom’s house or my sister’s house. Second, it’s usually potluck!
It was fun–when it was over. But I’m still not sure I’m up for it every year. Jeff will have to convince me.
Love that you all did this, D’Ann. A lot of work but what fun! And I really enjoyed the details of your liquor store purchases. So funny.
LOL! It was hilarious. We felt so out of our usual element.
Love it! Thank you for sharing. The rasberry dessert looks especially delicious. I need to google a recipe for that one.
It was amazing! And you don’t even have to put the whisky in the whipped cream. We’d make that again for sure.
This dinner party sounds wonderful, unique, and memorable! Like you, I’m an introvert and tend not to gravitate toward hosting large groups in my home. But every now and then I think it’s good for us to get out of our comfort zone rut and do something like this. I’m glad you did! (This post is increasing my desire to visit Ireland and Scotland!)
You should go! We want to go back. 🙂
Loved reading this. Good for you for going outside your comfort zone.
Thanks! I’m just thankful the Lord carried me through it. At one point I was ready to give up!
What fun, D’Ann! I want to host one now. I made my husband read your post and maybe I can convince him to do it. That’s a big group, though, and It’d take some rearranging to make it work, but I love the idea! I absolutely loved Scotland when we visited it last year, for me, the first time. Wasn’t too fond of haggis, though, I must admit. I see Dawn in one of the pictures. Tell her we said “hi.”
I’m not a haggis fan either, so I passed on that! But others seemed to love it. I’ll pass along your hi to Dawn and Billy. We had to do a bit of re-arranging for that many, but I actually think it was more fun with more people.
What a creative, festive, literary party! It looks like you had so much fun, and I know your guests did too. It sounds like Jeff had as much fun planning the event as actually hosting it. I’d never heard of a Burns Night Supper, but it sure looks like you did it up right! I usually avoid hosting parties or large gatherings unless its family, but you’re living proof that intrverts can survive the experience. Ha!
Barely, but yes! ha! And yes, very literary. I think that’s part of what carried me through! Plus it helps you know what friends gel with the literary part of your life!
Sounds like you had a good time! Next time you visit the local liquor store, ask the staff for recommendations and they can point you towards some.
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One of my favorite podcasts is “Scran” hosted by Rosalind Erskine, Food and Drink staff writer at “The Scotsman.” Each year, there’s a Burns Night episode ahead of the actual day, taking a deep dive into the Scottish culinary history and tradition. You can read the “Scotsman Food and Drink” section without a paywall for more about Scotland’s culinary scene.
Very cool! I’ll make a note of that.