Howzit friends! Have you noticed how expensive it's become to eat out lately?

Especially if you enjoy good food.

A meal for a few people can quickly turn into a surprisingly expensive evening.

That's one reason we're becoming increasingly fond of the South African solution: invite people around instead.

We recently had friends over for a braai and were reminded that some of life's best evenings don't happen in restaurants. They happen in gardens, around a fire, with good food and people you enjoy spending time with.

Next time, we're thinking of taking it up a notch.

A few ideas we rather liked include:

🏅 Braai Olympics (egg-and-spoon races, sack races, silly team challenges and a completely unnecessary level of competitiveness).

🌍 Around the World Braai (everyone comes dressed as a different country and brings a dish to match).

🕵️ Murder at the Braai (a Cluedo-style mystery where guests spend the evening trying to solve a crime while pretending not to be the prime suspect).

The point isn't really the theme.

It's the excuse to get people together.

And summer feels like the perfect time to do exactly that.