Home entertaining sits at the intersection of groceries, drinks, meals, and leisure. U.S. household spending figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) show that food-at-home spending rose from $3,624 in 2010 to $6,224 in 2024, while entertainment represented 4.6% of total spending in 2024.
Table of contents
- Food-at-home spending over time
- Alcoholic beverages at home
- Home food compared with dining out
- The 2020–2024 shift
- Entertainment’s share of household spending
- What the numbers show about hosting
Food-at-home spending over time
Food at home is the clearest broad measure for the grocery side of hosting. The BLS source titled “The New Year and household spending” records the following annual spending by U.S. households:
- $3,624 in 2010
- $3,838 in 2011
- $3,921 in 2012
- $3,977 in 2013
- $3,971 in 2014
- $4,015 in 2015
- $4,049 in 2016
- $4,363 in 2017
- $4,464 in 2018
- $4,643 in 2019
- $4,935 in 2020
- $5,259 in 2021
- $5,703 in 2022
- $6,053 in 2023
- $6,224 in 2024
The series moved above $4,000 in 2015 and above $5,000 in 2021. It then exceeded $6,000 in 2023 and reached $6,224 in 2024. These are annual household spending figures, not the cost of a single party or a typical entertaining occasion.
The year-to-year pattern was not perfectly even. Spending edged down from $3,977 in 2013 to $3,971 in 2014, then rose gradually through 2019. The larger increases in the supplied series appear from 2019 to 2020, from $4,643 to $4,935, and from 2021 to 2022, from $5,259 to $5,703. By 2024, the BLS figure was $171 higher than in 2023.
For party planning, this category is useful as context rather than as a ready-made budget. It includes household food spending generally, so it does not separate everyday meals from ingredients bought for guests. Still, it shows the scale of the food-at-home category across the measurement period.
Alcoholic beverages at home
Alcoholic beverages purchased for home use form a much smaller spending category than food at home, but they are directly relevant to many adult gatherings. The BLS “The New Year and household spending” figures were:
- $222 in 2010, $242 in 2011, and $249 in 2012
- $261 in 2013 and $249 in 2014
- $290 in 2015 and $267 in 2016
- $278 in 2017 and $293 in 2018
- $316 in 2019 and $331 in 2020
- $305 in 2021 and $286 in 2022
- $294 in 2023 and $269 in 2024
The highest figure in this series was $331 in 2020. The lowest was $222 in 2010. The 2024 figure, $269, was below the 2019 and 2020 figures and also below the 2021 amount of $305.
The series therefore does not move in lockstep with food-at-home spending. Food at home reached a new high in every year from 2021 through 2024, while alcoholic-beverage spending declined from $331 in 2020 to $269 in 2024. That distinction matters when interpreting home entertaining: a growing food budget does not automatically mean a growing alcohol budget.
Home food compared with dining out
The BLS data also report spending on food away from home. This gives a useful comparison between food purchased for consumption at home and meals or food purchased elsewhere. The annual figures for food away from home were:
| Year | Food at home | Food away from home |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | $3,624 | $2,505 |
| 2015 | $4,015 | $3,008 |
| 2019 | $4,643 | $3,526 |
| 2020 | $4,935 | $2,375 |
| 2021 | $5,259 | $3,030 |
| 2022 | $5,703 | $3,639 |
| 2023 | $6,053 | $3,933 |
| 2024 | $6,224 | $3,945 |
For the full series, food away from home spending was $2,505 in 2010, $2,620 in 2011, $2,678 in 2012, $2,625 in 2013, $2,787 in 2014, $3,008 in 2015, $3,154 in 2016, $3,365 in 2017, $3,459 in 2018, and $3,526 in 2019. It was $2,375 in 2020, $3,030 in 2021, $3,639 in 2022, $3,933 in 2023, and $3,945 in 2024.
The comparison shows two different patterns. Food at home rose from $3,624 in 2010 to $6,224 in 2024. Food away from home rose from $2,505 in 2010 to $3,945 in 2024, but it fell to $2,375 in 2020 before rising in each supplied year from 2021 through 2024.
In 2024, the reported food-at-home amount was $6,224, while food away from home was $3,945. Both categories were higher than their 2023 figures: food at home increased from $6,053, and food away from home increased from $3,933. These figures describe U.S. household spending and do not identify whether a meal away from home was social, work-related, or routine.
The 2020–2024 shift
The 2020–2024 period is especially important for reading the home-entertaining figures because the categories changed in different ways. Food at home rose from $4,935 in 2020 to $6,224 in 2024. Food away from home moved from $2,375 in 2020 to $3,945 in 2024. Alcoholic beverages at home moved from $331 in 2020 to $269 in 2024.
The BLS values for these categories were:
| Year | Food at home | Alcoholic beverages at home | Food away from home |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $4,935 | $331 | $2,375 |
| 2021 | $5,259 | $305 | $3,030 |
| 2022 | $5,703 | $286 | $3,639 |
| 2023 | $6,053 | $294 | $3,933 |
| 2024 | $6,224 | $269 | $3,945 |
Within this five-year view, food at home increased in every listed year. Food away from home also increased in every listed year after 2020. Alcoholic-beverage spending did not follow either sequence: it fell from 2020 to 2022, rose from $286 to $294 in 2023, and fell again to $269 in 2024.
These are measured spending levels for U.S. households, not forecasts. The data do not establish why the categories changed, and they should not be read as a direct measure of the number of parties held at home. They do provide a factual backdrop for deciding whether a gathering plan is primarily grocery-led, drink-led, or built around purchased meals.
Entertainment’s share of household spending
The BLS source “Consumer expenditures in 2023” reports that U.S. households allocated 4.7% of total spending to entertainment in 2020. The share was 5.3% in 2021, 4.7% in 2022, and 4.7% in 2023.
For 2024, the BLS source “Housing and transportation accounted for 50 percent of household spending in 2024” reports that entertainment accounted for 4.6% of total spending and that households spent $3,609 on entertainment overall.
| Year | Entertainment share of total spending | Reported overall entertainment spending |
|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 4.7% | Not supplied |
| 2021 | 5.3% | Not supplied |
| 2022 | 4.7% | Not supplied |
| 2023 | 4.7% | Not supplied |
| 2024 | 4.6% | $3,609 |
The highest supplied share was 5.3% in 2021. It was 4.7% in each of 2020, 2022, and 2023, then 4.6% in 2024. The 2024 dollar amount is for entertainment overall; it is not identified as spending specifically on hosting guests, parties, games, music, or at-home activities.
What the numbers show about hosting
Taken together, these BLS measures place home entertaining within a broader household budget. Food at home was $6,224 in 2024, compared with $3,945 for food away from home and $269 for alcoholic beverages at home. Entertainment overall was $3,609, while entertainment represented 4.6% of total spending.
The categories answer different questions. Food at home indicates the scale of household grocery spending. Alcoholic beverages at home indicates a separate beverage category. Food away from home provides a dining-out comparison. Entertainment’s percentage and dollar amount show how leisure fits into overall spending, but they do not isolate home parties.
For readers planning a gathering, the most defensible interpretation is therefore categorical: groceries are the largest of the three directly comparable 2024 food-and-drink amounts in this dataset; dining away from home is also substantial; and alcoholic beverages purchased for home use are much smaller as a reported annual household category. The figures are national household spending measures for the years stated, not per-event prices or recommendations.
The historical record also cautions against assuming that every entertaining-related category rises together. From 2020 to 2024, food-at-home spending increased from $4,935 to $6,224, food-away-from-home spending increased from $2,375 to $3,945, and alcoholic-beverage spending at home decreased from $331 to $269. Entertainment’s share moved from 4.7% in 2020 to 4.6% in 2024, with a 5.3% reading in 2021. Those distinctions are the clearest statistical guide to the changing scale and mix of household leisure spending.