Help! Too Many People RSVP'd! UPDATE

[ha98ed14]

UPDATE in the Bitching Post. Barely anyone showed, even after RSVPing yes. Ugh. What a disappointment!

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I need help from all you B-day party planners. We are having a party at a park for DD's first b-day. Its on a Sunday afternoon from 3-6. We invited about 14 families, probably 60 people give or take. A little less than half of that 60 are pre-school aged kids.

I seriously thought maybe half of the people would come. Well, ALL the families except one have said they are coming! It makes me happy that they want to celebrate with us, but now I am worried about how I am going to feed all these people! I scheduled it over the dinner hour because I was expecting 30 people, and I thought that is totally do-able on our budget. (We are kinda tight these days, living on one income, etc.) Now I have to feed double that many!

My original plan was to do pizza from Sams or Costco. (Any thoughts on which is better? How many people do their pizzas feed?) Pizza is standard party fare in my circle of friends. I was also going to do 2 big bowls of salad and maybe a giant sub sandwich from Subway. The sandwich idea got lukewarm reviews when I ran it by some of my mom friends who will be coming. Do people just not like those?

Any ideas of how to stretch my budget. Should I just order more pizza and salad or should I supplement with things like a veggie tray and chips (Doritos)? We are having cupcakes for dessert. (Easier than cake IMO. No cutting.)

I would really appreciate any ideas/ feedback you might have!

P.S. Not that it is that relevant, but I have a pinata for the preschool kids (not DD) to hit stuffed with fruit snacks and stickers.

[egoldber]

Is there a grill? Or can you bring one? Can you do hamburgers and hot dogs, potato salad and chips? All from Costco of course. ;) I think that's plenty for a park birthday party personally.

[ChunkyNicksChunkyMom]

The big sandwiches at Sam's are great and much cheaper than Subway, must
order ahead on day, I think.

[elephantmeg]

I would do hotdogs etc too, they should be easier on the budget

[deannanb]

we are going to a bday party this weekend at a park - she is only serving hot dogs - chips, drinks, fruit - and then cake -

I think that is doable on a small budget. If people don't like hot dogs - too bad - they will eat whatever else is there and then go home and eat =)

good luck!

[Bean606]

We did pizza for Ds's 1st birthday, and in addition, we got a platter of sandwich wraps from Costco for people who didn't eat pizza -- they were pretty inexpensive, and good. You also might want to think about something like fruit - Watermelon is easy on the wallet and great for picnics.

I've been to several birthday parties where the focus is on feeding the kids, and the adults just manage and deal before or after. Don't worry and have fun!

[ha98ed14]

No Grill at the park we are using. They just hve a covered shelter... and a good playground, which is why we picked it. I can't change it because I already paid the city for the reservation... Is Pizza a bad choice? Should I skip it and go with sandwich platters? Watermellon is a great idea!

[egoldber]

Unless you plan to eat first thing won't the pizza get cold? And I usually assume that people will arrive over the first 30 minutes of the party and only have appetizers until most people have arrived.

[Corie]

Don't know the cost or if you have one in your area.

But what about a chicken nugget tray from Chick-Fil-A ?

I've been to several birthday parties in Texas and they served
the nuggets. All the kids love them and honestly, so do most
adults. They are delicious! :)

[ha98ed14]

Unless you plan to eat first thing won't the pizza get cold? And I usually assume that people will arrive over the first 30 minutes of the party and only have appetizers until most people have arrived.

DUH! That is a really good point! What was I thinking? I guess I WILL have to do chips and veggie tray and then send DH to get the pizza mid-party. Ugh! I am a total idiot! Hitting-head-against-wall-smilie!

Any other ideas on a main course if grilling is out and pizza will get cold? Should I do the sandwhich platter?

Also, do you think I need to have enough of everything so everyone can have one? (Not including cupcakes). Like do I need 60 peoples worth of veggies and chips and watermellon even tho there will prob be some people who won't have some of one thing?

[updacountry]

I love pizza, but how would you keep it warm? I like the ideas of small sandwiches better. I find with a big hero it is all bread and the kids won't eat it, it's messy and gets wasted. I would do like little finger wraps/sandwiches and chips, maybe potato salad, I think you can get those at Costco. Also if you have leftovers they are great for lunches for the next week! I always find that everyone eats the crap stuff first. There spinach dip is great and you can just buy stale the day old bread and rip up for dipping.

[boolady]

I would do the wrap platter. Wraps will fill up the hungry, aren't too heavy for the not-so-hungry, and will be easy to handle at the park.

[Globetrotter]

The same thing happened to us for dd's second bday! All but one family came, so we had over sixty people in the HOUSE. Never again!

At least yours is in the park so it will be fine.

My first thought is Costco. When else will you be able to actually finish one of their platters? :)

Do they have sandwich platters?

You can probably get a good deal on Dominoes pizza, and they will deliver. Not the best, but great for kid's party! Then make a simple salad and serve drinks and cake, and you're done! The Costco cakes are huge and cheap. Something to consider! I have never seen one finished, even at a large party, and I find that many adults don't eat it!

[updacountry]

ooh, how about one of those cupcake cakes. I think costco makes them. I love them! I don't know if you were going to make the cupcakes but I always think my time/sanity is worth the price of paying someone else!

[ha98ed14]

ooh, how about one of those cupcake cakes. I think costco makes them. I love them! I don't know if you were going to make the cupcakes but I always think my time/sanity is worth the price of paying someone else!

A friend of mine (who will be coming) offered to make the cupcakes, but now that I have this many people coming, I am definitely going to give her the option NOT to make 5 dozen cupcakes. As a back up, I called both Sams and Costco. Sams is $11.00 for 30 cupcakes in a box. Costco is $16.00 for 20 in a box. I am going with Sams. Easy choice for me because I am trying to stretch my budget. I can arrange them into a cake shape. My friend has one of those display thingys.

I think I am going to get those big bags of chips. Our Sams sells 2 for about $5.00 How many bags do I need for 60 people?

The sandwich platters serve between 15 and 20 people? Do I order 3 so I have enough for everyone, or just order 2 because some people will pass.

I am also thinking of just buying some PB & J and 2 loaves of bread and making a bunch of PB & Js cut into triangles for the kids. Neither Sams nor Costco do PB & J. I am not sure if all the kids will like the turkey/ roast beef/ ham and cheese on croissants, which I can get at either Sams or Costco.

Thoughts? Thanks for all the great ideas so far!

[Tondi G]

could you order Pizza to the park? If you tell them at Dominoes that it's party they should give you a price of 10 bucks a pizza. ask them to cut little slices since it is for kids! I would definetly add chips and dip or chips n salsa to the menu.... snacking things... maybe goldfish crackers for the kiddos? Costco has great big vegi and dip trays... I'd buy one or two of them. Watermelon is good... you could also get a big container of red grapes or strwberries and make a fruit platter of sorts.... only fruit you'd have to cut is the watermelon!

other things that we serve for parties

pasta salad ... easy to make... tri colored spirals, red and green bell pepper and red onion chopped, a can of sliced black olives... toss with Bernsteins Italian or cheese fantastico dressing!

potato salad

coleslaw

macaroni salad

Hot dogs can be kept warm in a crock pot! If you can borrow a second crock pot you can make chili to go along with the hot dogs!

chicken strips or fried chicken

hot wings or teriyaki wings

a giant sub sandwich or a platter of small sandwiches

LOTS of options... call around and see what the prices are near you and figure out what it the most cost effective option!

Good Luck

[updacountry]

Did you look into the wraps instead of the croissants? I think they may be cheaper. I would go for the extra, you can always eat them as leftovers. Be careful with PB&J, there are so many people allerigic to nuts that you wouldn't want some little kid to have it and get sick.

For chips I would get the Tortilla ones, they are healthier and then maybe just get one of those giant salsas or guacamole.

[egoldber]

I would not serve peanut butter. There are too many allergic kids these days. I do think a lot of kids won't like those sandwiches though so a back up plan is not a bad idea.

Personally I think cake is easier than cupcakes at parties. IMO cake is also much easier to transport.

[Tondi G]

I would not serve peanut butter. There are too many allergic kids these days. I do think a lot of kids won't like those sandwiches though so a back up plan is not a bad idea.

Personally I think cake is easier than cupcakes at parties. IMO cake is also much easier to transport.

I agree that I think Cake would be easier and feed more people. BUT you do have to factor in the price of cake plates and forks then!

I know a family that got a tray of those uncrustable PB&J pockets and only a couple of kids ate them. My kids would be fine with turkey or ham sandwiches.

another option would be to just buy deli meats (often cheaper than buying tray of premade sandwiches)... turkey, ham and cheese (maybe cheddar and provolone or swiss) and let people make their own sandwiches. then if kids want to just eat the meat and cheese the little sandwich isn't wasted!

[TahliasMom]

remember even though all those ppl said yes you will still have at 10-15% of those no shows. I seen pizza, sandwich wraps, fruit, chips n dip, spinach, etc done at parties in the park. I would start with room temp stuff first and get pizza half way thru (either pick up or delivered) when the most ppl are there. even if the pizza cools down, pizza is pizza :)

[ha98ed14]

remember even though all those ppl said yes you will still have at 10-15% of those no shows. I seen pizza, sandwich wraps, fruit, chips n dip, spinach, etc done at parties in the park. I would start with room temp stuff first and get pizza half way thru (either pick up or delivered) when the most ppl are there. even if the pizza cools down, pizza is pizza :)

Ya know, that is a great idea. I can send DH to get pizza in the middle and mean while people can munch on what is there. If people flake out and don't come, we may not even need the pizza. We could play it by ear... Thanks!

[hellokitty]

I agree with many of the others, basically keep it simple. Tondi had a really good list of party food on a budget. Also, I'd like to second the sam's club sandwich idea. We got one for one of my son's parties, I didn't think it would be a big hit, but it was completely GONE by the end of the party. Ppl loved it, even family members who normally don't like sandwiches. It's much more affordable than buying it at subway.

Watermelon is also super cheap and feeds lots of ppl, and if you're doing it at a park, it's so easy to just cut it into wedges and let ppl eat it off the rind. Pasta salad is not only easy to make, but extremely cheap. Sam's club sells huge containers of coleslaw and potato salad for pretty cheap too. Another idea is sloppy joes. I just made some last night and was amazed with how many sandwiches you can make with 1 lb of meat and was thinking to myself that it would be perfect, "party" food if I had to feed a lot of ppl. It would be something really easy to make in a crock pot too, so virtually effortless on your part at the party, since it would already be pre-cooked.

If you have a wonder bread outlet close by, go there and get all your bread things there, it's really affordable, just a little bit over a dollar per pkg of buns/bread, and it's not expired stuff either. If you want to do ice cream with the cake, just get those big huge tubs, it's way cheaper than getting the smaller breyers or edy's, etc.. For drinks, you can just do mixed powder lemonade or something. It's cheaper than pop, and both adults and children like lemonade.

I kind of have to smile at your post, b/c your friends and family must really like you guys a lot, for everyone to RSVP that they will be attending. However, I can totally understand why you are freaking out about the prospect of feeding twice as many ppl as you had anticipated.

[fortato]

I am running into the same problem here---

I am not going to have extra food- because if I run out of food, so what? They can leave early. The party isn't about the food, it's about celebrating your dc's birthday....

At least that's what I am thinking today- next Thursday will be another story.

[ha98ed14]

I am running into the same problem here---

I am not going to have extra food- because if I run out of food, so what? They can leave early. The party isn't about the food, it's about celebrating your dc's birthday....

At least that's what I am thinking today- next Thursday will be another story.

This isn't an option for me because people will be dropping by at all different times between 3 and 6. I think that as the host it is my responsibility to welcome the 4:30 guests with the same food options as the people who show up at 3:00. If I was a guest, I would not want the picked over left overs of what everyone else had devoured. To do that do my guests is unacceptable to me. If I run out of something, oh well, but I am not ok with running out of everything and then expecting people to go home.

[misshollygolightly]

I don't think anyone has mentioned it yet, but you can also cut costs on drinks. IME throwing parties, mixing up a couple of big batches of Koolaid and Countrytime Lemonade will be much, much cheaper than buying a bazillion 2-liters (and WAY cheaper than buying individual cans or bottles!). Most kids and adults would be happy enough with those two choices, plus water. If you buy or rent those big insulated thermos/dispensers, you don't even necessarily have to provide ice for everyone, as you can probably just dump ice directly into the thermoses (just make sure you mix the drinks strong enough that they don't get dilluted as the ice melts).

[Bean606]

Just wondering how the party went, since I am in the process of planning my DS's! Did a lot of people come, did you have enough food, was it a lot of fun??

[kijip]

This isn't an option for me because people will be dropping by at all different times between 3 and 6. I think that as the host it is my responsibility to welcome the 4:30 guests with the same food options as the people who show up at 3:00. If I was a guest, I would not want the picked over left overs of what everyone else had devoured. To do that do my guests is unacceptable to me. If I run out of something, oh well, but I am not ok with running out of everything and then expecting people to go home.

I agree. Running out of food at a party would be a huge nightmare for me. I'd serve the cheapest thing I could if I needed to, but I'd make sure there was a enough to go around. Like you said, running out of 1 thing is one thing, running out of it all is quite another. The party may be about the b-day child but being a host is about taking care of your guests.

[ShanaMama]

UPDATE in the Bitching Post. Barely anyone showed, even after RSVPing yes. Ugh. What a disappointment!


Ugh. What are you going to do with all that food?