May have found a great solution. One of the popular lunch restaurants here serves reall great bread. I was talking with the owner, and he said a lot of people come in just asking to buy the bread (it is a brown and serve kind of frozen loaf, but no preservatives or anything so goes stale real quick). But during the holidays he has a few people who come in and buy hot loaves off ocf him for dinner. So, I am going to step out just before the party and get a couple of nice freshly baked bread loaves and some butter.

Fantastic solution. Enjoy!

That time of year again. Need to come up with something for the office Christmas Party. I hate potlucks. I have no way to keep something hot, nor cold. I have to drag it down three flights, across campus, and up another. All to try and eat stuff someone else made who you don't trust their cooking skills. And I have absolutely no time to cook this year, so it needs to be bought, but has to look presentable, because you just have to bring something made with love to these things.

What are you bringing to your parties this year?

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I knew I had done this before! I just couldn't find the thread. But here it is: Potluck - no time, no heat, no cold. But still curious to hear your choices.

How about a cheese ball with crackers or crostini. It's best served at room temp for flavour and spreadability.

My potluck go-to and most requested recipe is actually based off the back of a tin of Campbell's Cream of Shrimp. Start with a tin or two of Campbell's Cream of Shrimp. Add a drained tin of crab meat and 2 - 3 drained tins of tiny shrimp and you've got a very tasty and fancy looking dip. Serve with a package of saltines. It takes about 5 minutes to mix and serve. All ingredients are room temperature and travel well. If you like a bit of crunch in your dip, add some pre-diced red pepper or celery. Avoid onions unless there is time for the dip to sit. If your officemates like spicy, a takeout packet or two of hot sauce works well in this dish.

If you're putting this together at your desk, I'd recommend double bagging the trash and tying it up and tossing it somewhere else so it doesn't stink up the area depending on when the trash gets emptied.

This recipe can also be made into some fancy suitable for a dinner party by adding diced roasted red peppers (again, the type found in a jar) and a container of either sour cream, plain yoghurt or a tub of soft cream cheese. Real shrimp can be substituted for tinned and save some shrimp for garnish. It can be heated, served cold or at room temperature. Serve with fancy artisanal bread or fancy crackers.

Get a divided serving dish, the kind with 5 or 6 sections. Buy cans and jars of fancy olives, pickles, peppers, baby corn, water chestnuts, spiced nuts, etc. Remember to pack the can opener. Open the cans in the privacy of your office. Voila! Fancy snack tray!

I sympathize with your dilemma, and have little to offer since my usual pot luck dishes require a bit more than you have time for, BUT...
I love pot lucks because IME people tend to bring their best of the best proven offerings. I have had some of the best dishes ever at pot lucks. Sure, some losers too, but if there is ~20 or more, it's always good. It does help if people are assigned types of food to bring to increase variety.

Campbell�s cream of shrimp? Never seen that in the supermarket...

I like that idea!

I might use that one at Christmas itself.

Sadly and strangely not all supermarkets carry this. It's one of the the few Campbell's products that almost never goes on sale. The dish is similar to making onion dip with a Campbell's cream of onion soup as a base except this looks a lot more impressive with the addition of the shrimp.

Call in sick?

There's something nice and comforting about Oreos.

Actually this was one of the first potlucks I have been to that almost everyone did not bring a dessert. Usually you end up with 5 salads, 5 different kinds of chicken wings or meatballs, and a dozen desserts.