It's me and my friends 60th in a couple of weeks.

[notacooldad]

Ideas needed.
We have decided to have an open house at my house on Saturday in two weeks time.
We have e the same friendship group are families know each othe so no issues about guests.
How would you organise an open house. We are thinking of telling people to drop by from about 4 o'clock, everyone welcome including kids.
How would you do food and drink?
I'm rubbish at organising ' do's'
Any nice ideas we could use.
Thanks in advance. *edited by MNHQ to remove name

Be as clear as you can. I'd call it 'X and Y's open house birthday celebration'.
I'd say what time food will be. Either do it from the start or an hour later to give people time to arrive.
And spell out kids welcome so there's no doubt. Maybe put toys / a film on with popcorn in a room for them.

Borrow some gazebo’s in case the weather turns.
Have food/snacks you can prepare beforehand so you can enjoy your own party.
Ask people to bring a bottle.
Maybe borrow a large garden game like connect 4 to keep the kids (and adults!) amused.

Have a lovely time 🥂🥂

Depending on how many people I'd order in a buffet - we've done it before with getting food and chafer dishes from the local very good Indian restaurant.

Let people know there's food and roughly when.

You can get sale or return from off licences (wine shops) and they'll give you glasses too.

How long do you want people to linger?
How many people would you expect, in total?
What are you planning on offering?
4pm is a tricky time. In my neck of the woods that would be coffee and cake with a glass of Champagne to celebrate and would not go on later than 6pm at the maximum.
As a PP said, be as clear as possible and add a time limit to manage expectations (as well as your sanity).
"X and Y's 60th (or Diamond) Birthday Celebration. Open House on Saturday 3rd May 2025 from 4pm to 7pm."

I would call it ‘birthday celebration’ and lay out the timings
E.g join us for afternoon fizz from 4pm, BBQ at 6.30

I wouldn’t know what Open House meant, really, if I was actually invited or ‘pop in if you happen to pass’ kind of thing.

If you can get a gazebo/ weather proofing, and a willing few pairs of hands, you could also do a rolling bbq of sausages / burgers with a pile of rolls etc. it can be pretty straightforward

A friend and I shared a similar birthday celebration once. I ended up doing all the work and they just turned up and had a whale of a time. So maybe you need to ensure that you and your friend are on the same page regarding who is responsible for what.