There is something rather lovely about Heritage Day.

Perhaps it is the smell of a braai drifting over the neighbour’s wall, the familiar sound of family arriving, or the appearance of dishes that somehow carry an entire childhood within them.

And the best part? Celebrating Heritage Day in South Africa doesn’t need to be expensive.

Start With the Food You Know

Before planning an elaborate Heritage Day menu, have a little rummage through the pantry and freezer.

Heritage food was never really about extravagance. It was about family recipes, familiar flavours and making something wonderful from what was available.

Instead of an enormous braai, choose one or two affordable favourites. Think chicken pieces marinated in spices, wors and rolls, mielies over the coals, chakalaka, potato salad or freshly baked bread.

Or forget the braai altogether.

Make the dish that reminds you of home.

For me, heritage is just as easily found in the fragrance of coriander and mint, a pot gently bubbling on the stove, or the sort of food that makes someone walk into the kitchen and ask:

“What are you making?”

That counts too.

Make It a Bring-and-Share

If you’re gathering with family or friends, ask everyone to bring one dish that represents their family.

Suddenly, lunch becomes much more interesting — and considerably less expensive.

One person brings samoosas, another brings koeksisters, someone arrives with a salad, someone else brings pudding, and there is inevitably an aunty who brings enough food to feed approximately 47 people.

Every South African family seems to have one.

Shop Your Home

You really don’t need to buy Heritage Day décor.

Use a pretty tablecloth you already own, bring out your nicest serving dishes and cut a few sprigs of greenery from the garden.

Add colourful napkins, glass jars filled with flowers or herbs, a wooden board for serving food and perhaps a handwritten little menu.

Simple. Relaxed. Beautiful.

Celebrate Without Spending Anything

Some of the loveliest Heritage Day activities cost absolutely nothing.

Bring out old family photographs. Ask your parents or grandparents about the neighbourhoods they grew up in. Learn where a family recipe came from. Teach the younger generation a few words from a language spoken by their grandparents.

Put on music, sit outside, tell stories and laugh about the things that always happen at family gatherings.

Because heritage isn’t something we have to manufacture for one day of the year.

We’re already living it.

It’s in our food, our expressions, our recipes, our homes, our faith, our family traditions and the stories we repeat so often that everyone knows exactly how they end.

So this Heritage Day, don’t worry about creating something Instagram-perfect.

Light the braai — or don’t.

Make the curry. Bake the bread. Set out the samoosas. Pour the tea.

Invite the people you love to sit down.

Sometimes the most beautiful celebration is simply remembering where we came from — together.

Happy Heritage Day, South Africa.