What do you serve at family birthday parties?

[ourbabygirl]

We're going to have about 14 adults and 4 kids (ages 2-4) at DD's bday party... I was thinking lasagna would feed a lot of people and be easy to do because you just bake it and take it out of the oven. In the past, for big parties & her baptism we've done (shredded) bbq chicken and/or pork in a Crock Pot and also Honeybaked Ham with buns, cheese, etc. I was hoping that (other than making it the night before) lasagna would be lower-maintenance but would still feed a lot of people. Do you think two 9x13 pans would be enough? Plus salad, maybe garlic bread, and of course cake? I was thinking I'd do one apple cake and a bunch of cupcakes, either chocolate or some white or yellow, some chocolate.

Any advice? Do I need more food? If so, any suggestions (whether it's main course or sides)? Also, what do you usually serve for drinks?

Thanks for your help! :bowdown:

[misshollygolightly]

How old is your DD? Do you want to serve a food you know she likes? I think lasagna sounds great, though I'd probably be buying the pre-made frozen kinds just to make it easier on myself :-) One thing: it does sound like you'll be running your oven a lot (cake, garlic bread, lasagna...). Not sure how big yours is or where it's located, but I don't think mine could handle two big pans of lasagna plus garlic bread--even if I made the cakes the night before (and my oven blocks a major passage through my kitchen every time I open it). If that's an issue for you, you could always do chili (on stove or crockpot) instead of lasagna. But really and truly, for a birthday party, I'd probably just make it easy on myself and pick up some good pizza from our favorite local pizza place.

[AbbysMom]

We're having a family party Sunday for 21 adults and 13 kids. We're ordering pizza :) it's truly the easiest for us.

[alirebco]

I think that sounds good as long as everyone can tolerate dairy. I like the idea of adding a salad and garlic bread.

For DS's 2nd birthday party I made this veggie and sausage roast which was really easy and yummy along with a salad, hummus, pesto and some plain pasta for the kiddos. I made as much as I could in advance and it worked out great!

[ourbabygirl]

Yeah, I would do pizza but I think the relatives invited wouldn't be too into that (my parents, DH's grandma, etc.). Plus DD (turning 2) is surprisingly not super into pizza like her mom is. ;) I figured I can microwave some turkey dogs or make sandwiches if the kids would rather have that.
And we're definitely taking the easy route for her brother's baptism in a couple of months- having a local bbq place cater it. :boogie: