Potluck sign-up sheet
A potluck fails when everyone brings dessert. This form asks each guest for a dish category as they sign up and collects dietary information so the organiser can see at a glance what the meal looks like and who needs what accommodation. The same form works for a work lunch, a holiday dinner or a church social — only the dish options change.
The form beside this text is live. Fill it in and submit it — it validates exactly as it would for a real respondent, and saves nothing.
Checkboxes let guests flag multiple dietary needs at once
A single checkbox is yes/no. A checkbox group lets one guest select vegan AND nut-free in one field. The organiser sees which combinations are common — which matters when planning the menu.
Categories are countable only if they are not free text
A dropdown forces "side", "Side" and "vegetable side" into the same category. Free text produces a spreadsheet where side dishes are scattered across three rows and an organiser cannot see the balance without reading every entry by hand.
No card required.
Potluck Sign-Up
Live previewHow to build this form
7 steps in the editor. Nothing here needs a paid plan.
- Add a text field for the guest's name and email so you can contact them if plans change.
- Add a dropdown for dish category — main, side, salad, dessert, drinks, other — so guests choose rather than type, and you can count categories from the CSV.
- Add a text field for the dish name or description, and a number field for how many people it serves.
- Add a checkbox group for dietary flags: vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, nut-free, dairy-free. A guest can check as many as apply.
- Add a long text field for allergen notes — the place to name specific nuts or proteins that might not be obvious from the dish name.
- Leave the allergen field optional; make everything else required so you know what is coming.
- Export the responses to a spreadsheet, then sort by dish category to see if you are balanced or all desserts.
Fields in this form
7 fields, using 6 of the 19 field types available.
| Question | Field type | Required |
|---|---|---|
| Your name | Short text | Yes |
| Yes | ||
| What are you bringing? | Dropdown | Yes |
| Dish name or description | Short text | Yes |
| Number of servings | Number | Yes |
| This dish is… | Checkboxes | Optional |
| Allergen notes (optional) | Long text | Optional |
What goes wrong with this form
Specific to a potluck sign-up sheet, not general advice about forms.
Letting guests type the dish category
Free text produces "side", "sides", "vegetable" and "veggie side" for the same thing. A dropdown guarantees every guest chooses from the same list, so your CSV export groups them correctly without cleanup.
Not capturing dietary flags until after sign-up closes
Ask for vegetarian, vegan and allergy information ON THE SIGN-UP FORM, not in a followup email. A guest who forgets to mention a nut allergy is the organiser's problem an hour before the meal; a flag checked on sign-up is something you planned around.
Making the allergen field required
Leave it optional. A guest bringing store-bought cookies with an ingredient label does not need to write an allergen note; the person bringing a homemade casserole is the one who should. Required fields bloat the form; optional ones admit that not every dish comes with warnings.
Questions about this form
How do I keep a potluck from being all desserts?
Use a dropdown for dish category instead of free text, so guests choose main, side, salad, dessert, drinks or other. Export the sign-up to CSV and sort by category — you can see immediately if you are heavy on desserts and ask guests to bring sides instead. The live web form does not show claimed slots (a respondent cannot see other answers), so the spreadsheet export is how you coordinate.
What if a guest is bringing something that does not fit a category?
Select "Other" — that is there for the person bringing the ice cream maker, the wine, the cheese board or anything else that does not fit neatly. Add a note in the description field so the organiser knows what it is.
Can guests see what others are bringing?
No. The form only shows one respondent at a time, so each guest fills it out independently without seeing anyone else's choices. Export the responses to CSV or send each one to Slack so you can see the full picture and coordinate any duplicate dishes before the event.