With the Queen's Platinum Jubilee approaching, most people are wanting to celebrate it in some way.
Whether it's afternoon tea or a street party, many families are planning something to mark the occasion.
But we all know finances are tight at the moment and the prospect of any sort of gathering can be a daunting one if you're throwing in extra mouths to feed.
However, it doesn't need to be an expensive affair - and you can get still get a decent looking spread without spending a fortune.
I set out to make a party table on a budget and I think it's safe to say it looks pretty impressive, despite only taking an hour to throw together.
Aldi was my store of choice for the food and drink, which worked out at £27.57 for everything from sandwiches, pizza, sausage rolls and other snacks, to fruit, scones and cake, including a rather impressive Victoria sponge - which I jazzed up with extra cream and strawberries - and even some sweets for the little ones.
I didn't go overboard with decorations. If you're not already aware Union Jack bunting is like gold dust and nobody on a budget wants to spend £5.99 on one pack of the stuff, which is what one particular POUND shop was trying to charge me.
In the end I settled for some Union Jack napkins, which cost £1 for a pack of 20 from Iceland, and some red, white and blue plates, costing 89p for a pack of 10 from Home Bargains' barbecue range.
I made some mini flags to stick in the food using just some cocktail sticks and white stickers we already had. These can be picked up really cheap and add a little homemade touch, especially if you get the kids involved in the colouring in.
All in all it cost £29.46 and would be enough for around two families - of two adults and two kids - working out at just £3.68 a head.
I could have made three times the number of sandwiches with Aldi's cheapest bread at 36p a loaf, I certainly had enough fillings leftover, but there wasn't any left in stock and I decided to splash out on a soft white Hovis for the special occasion.
The same goes for crackers, there were plenty more where they came from if you needed to bulk your table out a bit more.
The summer fruits juice was enough for everyone to share, but I also picked up a bottle of Aldi's Cosmopolitan Mocktail, and if you did want to include some alcohol, then a bottle of Aldi's popular prosecco would add an extra £5.99 to your bill. Depends whether you want to toast Liz with some fizz I guess.
Either way you'll be toasting her on a full belly with this lot. Here's the full shopping list for my Jubilee spread...
Aldi
Beautifully Buttery spread - 85p
Egg mayo - £1.35
Ham - £1.69
Cheese - £1.99
Bread - £1.20
Sausage rolls (6-pack) - £1.29
Pizza - 99p
Cocktail sausages - £1.69
Houmous - 69p
Quiche - £1.59
Crisps - 85p
Crackers - 39p
Carrots - 24p
Cucumber - 49p
Strawberries - £1.19
Grapes - £1.24
Victoria sponge - £1.85
Bakewell slices - 85p
Strawberry jam - 28p
Jammy Wheels - 42p
Trifle (3-pack) 99p
Strawberry Haribo sweets - 89p
Clotted cream - £1.49
Scones - £1.59
Mocktail - 39p
Juice - £1.09
£27.57
Home Bargains
Plates (10-pack) - 89p
Iceland
Union Jack napkins (20-pack) - £1
Total - £29.46
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