Need snack ideas for a party with 100 people

[justlearning]

We're hosting a party next week that will have around 100 people (including adults and kids)--it's in the afternoon at a local park and I'm providing snacks for everyone. It's a "No Mo' Chemo" Party for my son to celebrate the end of his cancer treatment, so we're having generic party decorations without any theme. We will have a cake so that could work for dessert (or part of it).

I am not at all the entertaining type, so I need help! What should I provide and how much of everything? I want it to be low stress on my end, as inexpensive as possible, and easily transported to the park. So far I've thought of veggie trays, fruit plates, and cheese and crackers. But that seems so generic and not very interesting. So any better ideas or things to add to this list? TIA for any help!

ETA: The party is going to be from 2-5:00, and I said I'd be providing "light snacks." It looks like there are going to be over 100 people now, with about half of the attendees being kids.

[JustMe]

I'm not great at that kind of thing either, so I just mostly wanted to say congratulations on getting to this point!!!

Personally, I'd probably be going generic and easy myself. I'd hit Costco and see what I could come up with there.

[MamaMolly]

Hey, what a wonderful thing to celebrate!!! :yay:

I have to agree with the PP, Costco or any other big box store to help you with one stop shopping. And costco cakes are surprisingly YUMMY and pretty cheap. Your choices so far sound great!

What time is the party? If it is around or including lunch to dinner time I might include more 'real' type food.

If you are including a meal time I'd get:
a few those trays of sandwich roll slices (pre-made! Yay!)
OR a couple of party platters of subs from Subway. You could do packets of condiments if you are worried about the heat.

If no meal then cheese and sausage trays are easy finger food that provides a change from just chips.

You can do corn chips and salsa, and a variety of dry, salty snacks like veggie chips, pretzels, maybe a bowl of dry cheerios for the really little ones?

For DD's birthday we filed a cooler with ice and bought little water bottles, juice boxes and the 1/2 size soda cans. Those are fun.

Again, congrats on such a great achievement for your DS!

[zoestargrove]

Congratulations! what a terrific occasion for a celebration!

For easy - I'd go to an orchard and buy a couple of wooden baskets of apples and some cheddar cheese popcorn or cider donuts.

or if it's going to be a day that feels more summary than fall - I'd slice up several watermelons.

[BabyMine]

I don't have any suggestions but I wanted to say
CONGRATULATIONS :yay:

[Seitvonzu]

wow! that's an AWESOME reason to celebrate. :) so wonderful- congrats to your little boy! :)

i'd be tempted to rent a popcorn machine... i think that would have lots of novelty bang for the buck and what's better than fresh popped popcorn? :) along those lines i might try a bit of a theme , even if it was just with the food-- carnival/state fair/county fair -- i'm thinking watermelon, of course the popcorn, maybe candy apples? hot dogs and fixins' if you want something more maindishy but still pretty cheap. nacho bar? i think those things would be cheap but filling...people could sort of assemble their own.

100 people is alot no matter what you do. but i'd DEFINITELY rent a popcorn machine. we reallyreally love popcorn in our household!

[brittone2]

wow! that's an AWESOME reason to celebrate. :) so wonderful- congrats to your little boy! :)

i'd be tempted to rent a popcorn machine... i think that would have lots of novelty bang for the buck and what's better than fresh popped popcorn? :) along those lines i might try a bit of a theme , even if it was just with the food-- carnival/state fair/county fair -- i'm thinking watermelon, of course the popcorn, maybe candy apples? hot dogs and fixins' if you want something more maindishy but still pretty cheap. nacho bar? i think those things would be cheap but filling...people could sort of assemble their own.

100 people is alot no matter what you do. but i'd DEFINITELY rent a popcorn machine. we reallyreally love popcorn in our household!

:love5: this idea :) A carnival environment sounds very festive and fun for the occasion :) (eta: and oh what a wonderful occasion to celebrate! Congratulations!!!!!! )

[jgenie]

:yay::yay::yay: Congratulatons!!! :yay::yay::yay:

The watermelon and sandwich trays sound good to me if it's around meal time.

[Corie]

CONGRATULATIONS!!!!! What a great reason for a party!!! :)


If you have a Chick-Fi-A nearby, what about a chicken nugget tray?
Super easy.

[justlearning]

Thanks for your input. The party is going to be from 2-5:00 in the afternoon at a park, and I said I'd be providing "light snacks." It looks like there are going to be over 100 people now, with about half of the attendees being kids.

Given these details, what kind of snacks do you think I should provide? I don't think I need to provide meal-type snacks due to when our party is. I do need to be aware of issues surrounding how to keep the food (e.g., ranch dip) cold during that time, etc.

I like a PP's idea of renting a popcorn machine, but we're really trying to keep the costs down so we don't want to add to the costs that will already be incurred.

I"m going shopping for the food over the weekend, so any more input would be greatly appreciated!

[DietCokeLover]

Does the park have a grill? You could do s'mores over the grill if they do. That would be fun.

Other ideas:

cupcakes
Chex Mix
Pinata filled with candy?
Meatballs

You could set up a few coolers filled with ice and then set up a "bar" of dips inside of the cooler - chip dip, fruit dip, hummus, spinach artichoke, etc

Let us know what you come up with!

[jgenie]

With your time frame - I would just do packaged snacks that don't need to be refrigerated and cold drinks - lots of water. I would do bags of chips without dips, mixed nuts, crackers and maybe some large tubs of cookies and candies to go with the cake. Have fun and congratulations again. :)

[aks226]

What an awesome reason to celebrate!!

I would definately hit Costco! They have large bags of popcorn and you could have cups to put the popcorn in.

They also have lots of prepackaged options like crackers and cheese (no refridgeration), bags of chips, and cookies. You could do a make your own chex mix bar, with the cereal, pretzels, nuts, etc all out in large bowls and serve in large cups and they can put in whatever mix they want. They also have presliced bread, muffins, etc.

For ease, I would try to stay away from anything that needs to be kept cold. I think you could do plent without having to worry about keeping things cool.

Have lots of fun and enjoy the celebration!

[amandabea]

Congratulations! I'm so happy for your DS and family.

I love the carnival theme, but if that sounds like too much to take on then, I second picking up a variety of snacks and finger foods from Costco. I think meatballs or hotdogs are great ideas for that number of people (plus we just made a quick trip to Ikea, so I have meatballs on the brain. And they have hotdogs for $0.50).

[kwc]

Congrats, that is SOOOOO wonderful. Especially in light of the reason for the party and with those numbers, no one will expect a lot of food or anything fancy... they will just be so excited for your DS and your family.

I would just have a ton of drinks, chips/ salsa/ Costco guacamole, maybe a few veggie trays and maybe a Costco cake or two. Also, Costco sells giant tubs of "Pub Mix" (sorta like chex mix) for about $7-8... tasty and way easier than making it yourself... and kids love it.

I don't think 3 hours without refrigeration is a prob for ranch dip. And I like the watermelon idea, too.

If the weather was good, I would bring a couple of coolers full of Otter Pops... we never buy them because of all the color/ etc. but my kids go CRAZY over them for "special occasions" and they are cheap/ easy/ a crowd pleaser without taking up too much room.