Help! How much food do I need to buy for this party?

[Thurlow]

30 seven years olds (God help us)

We're thinking typical party food - some ham and then cheese sandwiches, some pizza slices, crisps, sausage rolls, hummus, cucumber, carrots, maybe mini sausages, then strawberries and grapes and party cake for dessert.

How much of each do we need to buy?!

They eat less at parties than everyday, I think because they are talking!
Plan for a few handfuls of things, two sandwiches each, a sausage roll, a few carrot sticks etc. Over buy on crisps, under buy on veg, have a reasonably large amount of fruit, maybe blueberries too? Not all kids can eat strawberries. Maybe also get some biscuits like party rings
Have extra cups! They will drink 100000 gallons of squash, some will ask for water instead. Don't bother with fizzy drinks for 7 year olds.

I would allow for a slice of bread each, a slice of pizza each, a sausage roll each and then a handful of crisps, fruit, snacks etc each. And a slice of cake each obv!

Someone said about a free for all, on end got nothing, other end loads left...
So do as person did, plate it all up, cover savoury stuff up with cling film, and hand everyone a plate.
Bring sweets out afterwards, you will find they eat plated stuff that way...

What ILoveDolly said

OK, I had planned for 2 of everything for each child but that's probably too much. Maybe plan for fifty slices of pizza - they'll be small slices anyway - a few cocktail sausages, a sandwich and a sausage roll each, with a handful of crisps and veg?

Good point on the sharing out, we've got big foil trays but I'll put a mix of everything on each tray so everyone can reach everything

Sandwiches are a pita to make in large quantities and hard to fit enough pizzas in the oven. What about hotdogs? Can cook a million in a saucepan no problem.

The other mum has offered to make the sandwiches, I'm not going anywhere near them after doing it last year

Pizzas we'll cook at home that morning and slice up ready

Don't buy squash, get those plastic cartons with the straws - they're about £2 for 24 in the supermarket, and it means there's a lot less spillage. 2-3 per child (depending on the type of party), and they last forever so any left over can be given for school snack or whatever.

I went to one recently where they did paper bags for each child at a seat on long trestle tables with a carton drink, two triangle sandwiches (ham or cheese with a little swapping when the DC sat down), choc biscuit, pack haribo. On the tables bowls of crisps and more drinks. Really simple, low waste and the DC really enjoyed it.