What food would you like at a lunchtime/ afternoon family party?

[BoogleOogle]

Having a family party from about 13:30/14:00 in a few weeks. About 30 people, mostly adults but several toddlers and primary children.

I was going to get catering but the prices are shocking so going to do it myself. It'll be a cold buffet for easy. I want to make it minimal work as I have very young DCs and work full-time, but obviously I want people to enjoy the food!

I was thinking that no one really eats sandwiches at these sorts of things, so should I bother with them at all? Maybe just bread and butter and then lots of nibbles like sausage rolls, onion bhajis, samosas, pork pies, cocktail sausages etc. Maybe some cold pizza? What else?

Pudding was thinking just a selection of those boxes of cake bites and nice prepared fruit or berries? Maybe jam tarts or something as well? Mini rolls?

Is this all naff or would you like it? Ideally I just want finger food so no cutlery and nothing hot.

@RhadamanthNemes Surely OP should be putting in more of an effort than that!

Bread and butter ? No that's horrible
Order food from Morrisons if you are uk. Lovely platters of sandwiches wraps etc and reasonably priced. Can order online and collect on the day

Ok Amanda

Yes. But she's said she's not going to cook so ...

Order some sandwich platters, cheeseboard, salad, olives etc, charcuterie, if you're doing hummous/tzatziki and crudités it doesn't take much to toast some pitta and chop into slices, do some falafels warm too.
Maybe a cous cous/pasta salad, quiche.
I also find chicken wings go down well, easy to marinate in ziplock bags before you go out then just bung on trays in the oven when you get back.
Fruit platters and some sweet things like fairy cakes and cookies

Definitely a huge bowl of good quality salted crisps, alongside a dip (ranch? That fancy pea dip at M&S?)

A cold pasta salad

Have you got somewhere to store all this food or are you just going to go to the supermarket on the day? You'll need a lot of fridge space if you plan to shop the day before. Everything will meat in it needs to be chilled.

Have you costed doing this yourself against the cost of catering? The packs of picnic items like sausage rolls, samosas etc aren't exactly cheap at the moment and you will need loads of them.

The Domino's idea might be cheaper if you speak to them and see if they will do you a deal.

Well quite. I mean, that’s just an after school snack for a child really isn’t it?

It's very pastry/meat heavy, I would try to put some forkless salad things in there (eg little easy to manage lettuce cups), crudités, good crusty bread and cheese. Definitely wouldn't fit for dominoes - not everyone likes pizza and it's very expensive!
Hot dogs could work - let people help themselves if you set up a little area for it.

Ignore! I'd eat your buffet any day over RideACockHorseToSunburyCross suggestion of dodgy pies from Asda.
But considering the op wanted a finger buffet it may be a little complicated!

@RhadamanthNemes
I hope you remembered to climb on to a chair and blow your own trumpet at the end.

No need to sneer at the OP.

Ok, I don't know your family OP, beige buffet wouldn't go down well here!

If you're time strapped and don't have any dietry requirements I'd do a ham (it's always good to have a centrepiece).

Make a coleslaw and potato salad, they take minutes. Get some decent bread. Cheese board. Green salad.

Keep it simple.

I wasn't sneering at the OP.

Absolutely not.

I wasn't sneering at anyone.

I like food and like to be fed well. I do understand that not everyone cooks in the way that I do

So, see my suggestion above.

If you don't have the skills and the time.

Keep is simple.

To be fair the OP did ask what people would like at a family party. @RhadamanthNemes list sounds like a lot of work and obviously isn’t going to fit the bill here but but @BoogleOogle proposed offerings are the other extreme! I mean I get being pressed for time but a load of stodgy, cold food, much of which is best served hot, plus a requirement for so little effort that ideally there’s no need for cutlery and salads are debatable isn’t what a lot of people would like.

I wouldn't serve anything cold that's normally hot (pizza). Sausages you can eat cold though.
I'd do three big salads- one green, one with loads of other veg, one a cold pasta or a tabouleh.
A few quiches.
Really nice bread and rolls.
A range of cold meats and cheeses.
Mustard, pickle sauce, mayo etc.
Dessert: fruit salad, tray bake cake, brownies.

Isn't it funny how people's tastes are sooooo different - what is 'disgusting' to LoobyDoop is delicious to me! I absolutely love egg sandwiches!

I always break up all the chunks of white, hefty dollop of Hellmans, maybe a splash of salad cream, salt and pepper, give it all a good mashing and mixing - in soft white buttered bread - and I really think they're one of the most delicious things you can eat!

I agree @ApplesinmyPocket Egg sandwiches are delicious!

I also thought that the declaration of egg sandwiches as 'disgusting' and eaten by nobody was rather extreme.

I bloody love egg sandwiches

My husband's grandmother did the best 'nan buffet'

I agree. I've just bought a thick white sliced loaf from M&S for a bargainous 85 p to make egg mayo sandwiches while I'm out for work this week.

Entirely cold buffet is awful. Get some things you can heat up. Mini sausage rolls, quiche, pizza.

The thought of mushy peas plus beans and pickled onions and gravy has made me queasy. To post that vomitous combination and then take the piss out of other suggestions is hilarious 😄
(no, I have nothing to add that’s different to any of the hundreds of other suggestions that would all be fine)

Well, every day’s a school day. I have honestly never met anyone irl who will touch the eggy horrors.

You don't have beans AND peas you massive heathen. The kids go for beans I find.

The pickled onions are optional of course but last time we had this all 12 people added them. Fucking delicious.

I also love an egg sandwich fwiw