Surprise party on a budget

[Discopanda]

Hello, fellow MNers, thought this might be the best place to post this. I'm planning a surprise party for DP's 30th at the start of October, we've got a fairly large open plan kitchen and dining room that leads into the garden and it'll be 1.30ish so hopefully will be able to have it there (we have a gazebo too). I'm going to enlist FIL to get him out of the house for a couple of hours so I'll have a bit of time to get ready BUT I don't drive and we don't have any of the big supermarkets in our local high street, how can I pull together a decent party in a couple of hours on a budget of £100 max, there will be around 20 guests. Cheap recipes and planning/budgeting ideas very welcome.

[wowfudge]

Do you have friends or family who can help with food storage and prep? That way things can be done elsewhere and brought over to yours while your DP is out. When would you plan to feed people? If not until later on then provide some crisps, etc.

I would go for a fairly simple menu rather than a buffet with lots of options. For example, slow cook a shoulder of pork - pork is a lot cheaper than other meats and you can do this in advance, shred it and freeze if necessary - and do pulled pork with burger buns, make coleslaw (one cabbage goes a long way when shredded and it's a lot cheaper than buying it), do potato wedges and a large green salad. Make a veggie chilli for any vegetarians. Have a birthday cake as dessert. Is there anyone coming to the party who could make a cake for you?

You can buy glasses very cheaply or hire them from a supermarket - I know you have said you aren't near any, but if you plan ahead and get some help, that can be organised.

The largest expense is likely to be booze - you could get some of your DP's favourite beer or wine and some soft drinks and ask everyone to bring a bottle.

[sandgrown]

Can you get a supermarket delivery. They often have offers on multiple bottles of wine and packs of beer. Get friends to help with food and most people bring a bottle. Get friends to bring some fold up chairs if you need extra. Went to a great party last week where they had a kareoke machine. I thought it might be a bit naff but it was actually good fun.

[ginorwine]

A lot of parties we gave locally are on a ' Jacobs join' basis ie that every one brings a dish or say a pud .
We often do a veg chilli and a meat one with rice / jackets / chips
I also do a big punch - this can be topped up as you go along .
And big bowls of mixed chocolate such as malteser and minstrel s as they go well together as well as home made pop corn which costs about 60 p for a pressure cooker size pan
Also a cheese n cracker board with some grapes .