Page 13 | Does this sound like an okay party spread?

bdaypartyfood · 2026-09-12T10:35:37+00:00

Currently planning a surprise 30th birthday for my partner and catering it ourselves. It’s a family party so a mix of ages and some children there! Probably about 60-70 people coming. I’ve never really done a buffet before but my current plan is this: Ham sandwiches (1x platter) Cheese sandwiches (1x platter) Egg mayo sandwiches (1/2 platter) Tuna sandwiches (1/2 platter) Cherry Tomatoes (500g bag) Celery Carrots (1kg bag cut into sticks) Cucumber (2 whole cucumbers) Pepper (1 pack of 3 peppers) All served with various dips Mini sausage rolls (50) Cocktail sausages (50) Vegetable spring rolls (24) quorn cocktail sausages (1 pack, only one vegetarian that I know of!) Cheese & onion crisps Sweet chilli crisps Salted crisps Tortilla chips Onion ring crisps (All one big share bag per flavour) Chicken bites (72 pack) Cheese pizza (x2) Breadsticks (2 packs) Coleslaw (1 pack) Strawberries (2 packs) Grapes (2 packs) Watermelon (1) Fairy cakes (24) Mini flapjack (20) Mini brownies (20) Mini rolls (20) Also doing some gluten free sandwiches and some gluten free cakes (only one person is wheat intolerant not coeliac so no cross contamination concerns) Obviously a proper birthday cake as well! Does this sound like a good spread of food? Too much or not enough? Trying to stick to a budget where possible as the room hire was expensive! Thanks in advance for advice!

bellsbuss · Yesterday 21:03

Unless you want people to leave early due to be hungry then you need to triple the amount of your original suggestion.

buzzbuzzfly · Yesterday 21:16

NRFT - but it’s not enough food. Think about 2 full plates of party food & do that

To manage costs - sandwiches a great idea, put those out first & have extras you could freeze if not needed (cheese most likely)

Then once a dent is in the buffet put out other food that you could freeze if you end up with too off (eg sausage rolls, quiches or similar)

Extra crisps etc in reserve only go out if table is decimated

This was my strategy as a broke 20 something who hosted lots of parties on a slim budget - we went heavy on potato wedges & buttered slices of baguette too

Carandache18 · Yesterday 21:19

Do you have to do it all yourself?
I went to a party last summer where guests were invited to bring a savoury plate//salad/crisps etc and it worked really well. (Hosts did fruit and cake). I like being asked to contribute. It makes me feel more welcome. Could you think of that?

ratatouillemousesqueak · Yesterday 21:38

RosesAndHellebores · Yesterday 11:58

I thought I'd suggested simple, classic party food!

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You know full well you did not. You started off with a judgy UPF comment and then suggested faffy and more expensive items!!

@bdaypartyfoodagree with others in sandwiches, much more pizza, crisps and strawberries and toms.

of you order chips they’ll be wolfed down so get lots or none.

socialdilemmawhattodo · Yesterday 21:38

Nopayrise · Yesterday 12:17

To follow up on my previous post here’s what I’d do specifically

remove the tuna or egg sandwiches and increase amount of others

remove the pepper - you’d need more and they’re expensive

swap your mixed dip trays for bigger amounts of a couple of dips (3 max) - eg hummus, sour cream and chive, salsa

i wouldn’t bother with the quorn sausages - might get confusing and spring rolls are fine but allow one per person

i am veggie so don’t know about sausages and sausage rolls, I’d probably only do one, since you have chicken also for meat but either way sounds like you need more

reduce crisp types from 5 to 3 and get 20g per person total

more pizza, at least a decent slice per person

Wouldn’t bother with chips also as per your later post

forget coleslaw and maybe even breadsticks

more of each fruit - depending on ages grapes are a choking hazard so personally I would remove (would half any cherry tomatoes also). Pineapple is nice and cheap vs berries etc

wouldnt bother with fairy cakes if there’s birthday cake and you also don’t necessarily need both brownies and mini rolls but I would say you need enough of each thing for nearly everyone to have one of everything.

I think no other mains is fine but you could do mini quiche otherwise

EDIT - cross posted with latest OP post but yes think you’re going in the right direction but keep going!

Edited

If you remove the egg AND the minimal amount of Quorn, what does a veggie eat? Spring rolls - horrible. Dips, that everyone else has touched, and a couple of chips. Because i must share, as a woman in their 60s I eat a chippie shop medium size bag of chips all by myself!!

GrateWay · Yesterday 21:44

Trying to stick close to your brief, I would get loads of nice bread, cook a joint of gammon and a turkey crown and slice it down, do 3 dozen eggs worth of egg mayo and a big salad, maybe do a big pasta salad for any vegetarians (but make enough for everyone) and some jam sandwiches for the kids. Lots of crisps but only 2 or 3 flavours.

Assume everyone will have a plateful as PP said. Get plenty and make sure you have space in your freezer for any leftovers.

I really wouldn't do dips. They will get manky and unappealing very quickly.

ratatouillemousesqueak · Yesterday 21:45

Sorry I’m a bit behind but someone mentioned a pasta salad - a big pesto pasta would be fairly cheap, filling and yummy. Or another flavour if you don’t like pesto.

I think the second list you gave looked great and I’d love to have some of those at a party

I wouldn’t over think too much. If it’s starting to look low then grab some more chips but I think most would appreciate the effort and hopefully just have fun!!

GrateWay · Yesterday 21:46

TheLadyOfWinterfell · Yesterday 20:31

I am a vegan, yet you sound like the sort of person I would be friends with. You and the poster who thinks the OP should allow 1.5 bottles of wine per person…

OP, for £200 I would do what others have suggested and serve sweet and savoury nibbles rather than trying to do a full buffet. Your options were fine to me (not overly imaginative, but you should absolutely serve what you think your guests will like!) but it was just nowhere near enough even with your updates. Plus, there’s all the issues of prep time/fridge space/logistics of transporting huge amounts of food to consider.

If you push it back to 8pm then that gives your guests time to have an early dinner before they arrive, just make it clear on the invite. I hope it all goes well!

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Oooh, I also like this idea!

Notsosweetcaroline · Yesterday 21:55

Sookisssss · Yesterday 17:45

Room hire allows guests to buy their drinks.

And guests at a house party are supposed to bring their alcohol, not expect the host to spend hundreds of pounds.

Edited

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I’m sorry I don’t understand what you mean, you can room hire in many different venues, from community centres, town halls,to local pubs. Some you can buy drinks in, others you cannot.

BePoisedPlumUser · Yesterday 22:10

If your budget is £200 then I’d scrap the buffet idea and just get pizzas delivered halfway through the evening. Maybe put some crisps and sweets out for people to pick at.

WhatHappenedToYourFurnitureCuz · Yesterday 22:22

Sookisssss · Yesterday 15:14

I have twice had barbecues and posted on here. Everyone was screaming and shouting that I wouldn’t have enough. I had to throw enormous amounts away both times and that was with ignoring Mumsnet.

🥪 Sandwiches — the main eventAim for 130 whole sandwiches = 260 halves.
Filling Whole sandwiches
Ham 40
Egg mayo 30
Tuna mayo 25
Cheese 25
Ham & cheese 10
Total 130
I'd actually make ham the biggest quantity, as it's usually the safest crowd-pleaser.
Buy approximately:

26–28 loaves sliced bread
3 kg ham
36 eggs
10–12 tins tuna
2.5 kg cheese
4–5 jars mayonnaise
Butter/spread

🌭 Sausage rolls — coldYou can absolutely serve sausage rolls cold.

180 mini sausage rolls
Or around 60 large ones, cut into thirds

I'd favour mini ones, because people can take a couple without filling their plate with one item.

🍝 Cold pastaMake a big cold pasta salad.

3 kg dry pasta
2–2.5 kg pasta salad ingredients/dressing
Sweetcorn
Peppers
Cheese
Mayo or a light dressing

You don't need 4 kg now because the sandwiches and sausage rolls are doing more of the work.

🥔 Crisps15 large sharing bags
Mix of ready salted, cheese & onion, salt & vinegar, etc.

Put them into bowls so people can help themselves.

🥚 A few extra cold fillersI'd add:

30 Scotch eggs, halved
2–3 packs cocktail sausages, served cold
2 large packs pork pies, cut into slices
2–3 packs tortilla wraps, sliced into pinwheels if you want something different

You don't necessarily need all of these — they're your cheap insurance against running out.

🍰 If you're also providing dessertI'd keep dessert simple:

70 pieces of cake/brownie
2–3 large packs of biscuits
Fruit if wanted

🛒 My exact shopping list for 70Sandwiches — 260 halvesBread

28 × 800g white sliced loaves
This gives you plenty of bread and some spare.

Ham

10 × 300g packs = 3kg ham
Use generously on the ham sandwiches.

Cheese

3 × 900g blocks = 2.7kg
I'd buy blocks and slice them yourself — much cheaper than individual slices. Aldi currently lists 900g mild cheddar at £4.85.

Egg

3 × 15-pack eggs = 45 eggs
Use about 30–36 for egg mayo and keep the remainder as backup.

Tuna

10–12 tins tuna

Mayonnaise

4 large jars/bottles

Butter/spread

2 tubs

Sandwich quantities

40 whole ham
30 whole egg mayo
25 whole tuna mayo
25 whole cheese
10 whole ham & cheese

That's 130 whole sandwiches / 260 halves. 🌭 Sausage rollsThis is where Aldi is particularly useful.

20 × 8-pack sausage rolls = 160 sausage rolls

At the current listed price of about 95p per 8-pack, that's only around £19. You don't need to heat them — serve cold. I'd actually put out perhaps 120 initially and keep the remaining 40 in reserve. 🍝 Big cold pasta saladBuy:

3 × 1kg bags pasta
3 jars mayonnaise
4 tins sweetcorn
3 peppers
1kg grated cheese
Optional: cucumber/tomatoes if you want a little colour

Cook the pasta beforehand, cool it completely, mix it up and refrigerate. 3kg dry pasta will make a seriously large bowl, so this is excellent insurance against running out. 🥔 CrispsBuy:

15 large bags/sharing bags

I'd get mostly:

Ready salted
Cheese & onion
Salt & vinegar
Prawn cocktail

Don't put all 15 bags out at once. Put out 8–10 bags, then replenish from the spare ones. 🥚 Extra cold buffet foodI'd add these because they're cheap and make the table look much fuller:

30 Scotch eggs
2 large packs pork pies
3 packs cocktail sausages
2 packs mini Babybel or similar cheese snacks, if budget allows

Cut the Scotch eggs and pork pies into halves/slices so they go further. 💷 Rough budgetI'd expect something along these lines: Item Budget 28 loaves £16 3kg ham £16 2.7kg cheese £15 45 eggs £9 Tuna £10–£12 Mayonnaise £8–£10 Butter £4 20 packs sausage rolls £19 3kg pasta £5–£7 Pasta salad ingredients £12–£15 15 bags crisps £15–£20 Scotch eggs £10–£15 Pork pies £5–£8 Cocktail sausages £5–£8 Estimated total ~£154–£174 So you've got £25–£45 left over.

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If the OP wanted AI slop, she would have generated it herself.

Original poster

bdaypartyfood · Yesterday 22:25

dijonketchup · Yesterday 17:45

Hi OP! 👋 Your buffet sounds great and your revised quantities spot on. Good on you for asking for advice with something new to you.

My one piece of advice: start the prep really early, sandwiches take ages. Even just plating up takes a while. Have it all ready clingfilmed before the party, not just open when people arrive, or the early birds will eat the best things. Then when you and some helpers lift the lids it’s go time!

If I were you, I would delegate the chip fetching. You’re going to forget, or run out of time and have loads of other jobs to do. Give it to a person who likes to help out and ask them to do it on their way to the party so you don’t have to dash out and back. What if there’s a big queue and you miss half the party?!

You may not have realised before posting that many people come on here just to have a whinge, ignore them, take what serves you.

HAVE A LOVELY PARTY

Catching up on some comments and this one is very kind, thank you for being nice about it!

to answer some questions/comments, no cooking facilities there so whilst some options sound great they unfortunately wouldn’t work!

I can push the start time to 7.30 and perhaps stress that it’s a light buffet/snacks.

It’s just at a labour club function room so definitely nothing fancy, just an excuse to celebrate my lovely partner after he’s had a rubbish year when it’s his big birthday! Definitely no expectations to pay for any drinks etc

OP posts:

Partingofthewaves · Yesterday 22:26

BarbaraVineFan · Yesterday 11:57

I would double or even triple your original menu. 2 packs of strawberries for example will only feed about 10 people at a push

Agree.

socialdilemmawhattodo · Yesterday 22:28

Keymoment · Yesterday 14:22

Scrap the egg mayo and tuna sandwiches. No one will want those

Yes, the non-meat eaters. Thank you!

76evie · Yesterday 22:28

As you said they allow take away instead of hot chips you could get some pizzas (delivered), I’d do pepperoni ones and margaritas ones.

Also if they want classic party food, where are the chicken drumsticks?

GreenEyesMillennial · Yesterday 22:30

bdaypartyfood · Yesterday 22:25

Catching up on some comments and this one is very kind, thank you for being nice about it!

to answer some questions/comments, no cooking facilities there so whilst some options sound great they unfortunately wouldn’t work!

I can push the start time to 7.30 and perhaps stress that it’s a light buffet/snacks.

It’s just at a labour club function room so definitely nothing fancy, just an excuse to celebrate my lovely partner after he’s had a rubbish year when it’s his big birthday! Definitely no expectations to pay for any drinks etc

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Appreciate you want to do something nice. For 70 people you will just need more food as others have said. If you can’t afford it, then you should ask people to bring a dish, bring your own booze etc and just provide a minimum of food.

Original poster

bdaypartyfood · Yesterday 22:31

To answer some others:

yes I have lots of people who could and would help!

in our house we eat between 5-6pm so I thought 7 was later but obviously not!

anyway I’ve read through a lot and am thinking to make it clear it’s snacks and to stress it’s not a full buffet. As the venue allows outside food I can easily direct people to buy their own takeaway if hungry etc. it’s just meant to be a nice family get together and they’re genuinely all simple people so I don’t think they’re will be any issues or turned up noses at this idea!

thanks so much for all the lovely kind and supportive comments, I really appreciate it! And those who have offered advice it’s very kind to take time to do so! Those who feel the need to make digs or be cruel, I hope your children never need to seek out advice and find ridicule for it!

OP posts:

RocketLollyPolly · Yesterday 22:37

I think that pushing it back to 7:30 and saying ‘nibbles’ is a good plan. Then you can just do crisps, sausage rolls etc rather than all your sandwiches and dips. Also a lot less stress for you too. If you are really clear work people this is the position then I think it’s fine.

Edited to add I once hosted a school parents drinks evening and actually said on the invite ‘I’ll be arranging some nibbles but please have dinner before you come’ to make clear there wouldn’t be a meal.

wandawaves · Today 00:18

Oh OP your food budget is really low! But I appreciate you want to do something lovely for your partner. You are obviously putting a lot of thought and effort in and I'm sure he will love whatever you do.

However with that budget, I would definitely call on your family to help! Ask them to bring something. Delegate them something specific so it's useful. And the ones who you know are very willing to help, ask them to do something a bit more labour/cost intensive, like the sandwiches, or the cutting up of veggie sticks etc. I know if it were my family, they would be more than happy to provide substantial help.

Empress13 · Today 00:23

2 tubs of coleslaw for 70 people? Why don’t you make a big bowl yourself so easy to do and would go further. It’s all rather beige TBH but you’ve said you just want simple fayre. Personally I would have done some hot food to add into the mix. Don’t forget people like to graze throughout the evening you don’t want to run out. What are you doing for drinks? Is there a bar?

Empress13 · Today 00:38

bdaypartyfood · Yesterday 12:08

Okay so new plan at the moment is

Ham/Cheese sandwiches (2x platter of each)
Egg/Tuna sandwich (1x platter each)

Cherry tomatoes (1kg)
Celery (1)
Carrots (1kg)
Cucumber (3)
Peppers (6)

2x 4 selection of dips
Hummus
Tzatziki

mini sausage rolls (100)
cocktail sausages (100)
vegetable spring rolls (36)
quorn sausage (1 pack)

Cheese & onion crisps
Sweet chilli
salted
tortilla
onion ring
(all 2 sharing bags, maybe 3 of the plain)

Chicken bites (1kg pack)
Cheese pizza (x4)

Breadsticks
Olives (1 tub)

Large portions of chips from local takeaway (5 portions?)

Strawberries (2kg)
Grapes (1kg)
Watermelon (1)

Fairy cakes (24)
Mini flapjack (60)
Mini brownies (60)

Does this sound more sensible!

4 pizzas for 70 people !! How large are they ? 1 bag of say 6 celery sticks , 24 cakes for 70 people? The dips with the 4 sections aren’t very large you’ll need a few more than 2, I jar of olives ? You are massively under catered OP and I hope you’ve got help making all those sandwiches!

SandyHappyPerson · Today 00:41

bdaypartyfood · Yesterday 22:31

To answer some others:

yes I have lots of people who could and would help!

in our house we eat between 5-6pm so I thought 7 was later but obviously not!

anyway I’ve read through a lot and am thinking to make it clear it’s snacks and to stress it’s not a full buffet. As the venue allows outside food I can easily direct people to buy their own takeaway if hungry etc. it’s just meant to be a nice family get together and they’re genuinely all simple people so I don’t think they’re will be any issues or turned up noses at this idea!

thanks so much for all the lovely kind and supportive comments, I really appreciate it! And those who have offered advice it’s very kind to take time to do so! Those who feel the need to make digs or be cruel, I hope your children never need to seek out advice and find ridicule for it!

anyway I’ve read through a lot and am thinking to make it clear it’s snacks and to stress it’s not a full buffet.

Be a little bit wary of this OP, chances are people will eat first and then what you do prepare will be a waste, you'll be fine to bring it in under £200 and call it a buffet.

I'd do sandwiches, enough for one each across the varieties, (keep the fillings and bread/cobs separate and let people serve themselves), cook your own fillings if you can, beef, gammon, chicken and carve yourself, egg mayo, cheese, french stick cut up, pasta salad, potato salad, and a few different things like mini sausages/sausage rolls (enough for at least one each) , crisps, carrot sticks and breadsticks, chicken nuggets (costco do amazing ones), pizza.

Knock most the fruit and salad on the head, it's an unnecessary expense that not everyone will eat, do one bowl of mixed salad, and just pick one or two fruit items to use, concentrate on less dishes (but enough of each dish for everyone) pasta or potato based dishes are filling but not expensive, you can split them up into separate containers for ease of serving and make it look like there are more items!

Buy a large cake and a cheesecake from somewhere like costco, then buy or make some extra sweet things, like flapjacks/tray bakes which are also filling.

It will be a little bit tight, but you could absolutely bring it all in for under £200!

Empress13 · Today 00:43

bdaypartyfood · Yesterday 22:31

To answer some others:

yes I have lots of people who could and would help!

in our house we eat between 5-6pm so I thought 7 was later but obviously not!

anyway I’ve read through a lot and am thinking to make it clear it’s snacks and to stress it’s not a full buffet. As the venue allows outside food I can easily direct people to buy their own takeaway if hungry etc. it’s just meant to be a nice family get together and they’re genuinely all simple people so I don’t think they’re will be any issues or turned up noses at this idea!

thanks so much for all the lovely kind and supportive comments, I really appreciate it! And those who have offered advice it’s very kind to take time to do so! Those who feel the need to make digs or be cruel, I hope your children never need to seek out advice and find ridicule for it!

Maybe you should have pointed out at the outset it wasn’t a full buffet then your answers would have been different

SandyHappyPerson · Today 00:52

Empress13 · Today 00:43

Maybe you should have pointed out at the outset it wasn’t a full buffet then your answers would have been different

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blimey, that's a bit blunt.

OP has been told my quite a few posters to tell her guests that it is snacks and nibbles evening to avoid disappointing them with her buffet, which written down absolutely isn't enough food for 70 people, she seems to have taken that on board which is the post you are now replying to.. it didn't seem to be her intention from the beginning though, she wanted to put on a spread to feed that many people.

IMO if she just swapped a few things round, cut some stuff out, and added different things in she could bring it in for under £200 and still call it a buffet with plenty of food to feed 70 guests.

Lovedogs2 · Today 03:58

bdaypartyfood · Yesterday 12:02

I did think there aren’t any ‘main’ options that aren’t sandwiches (other than pizza and chips!) but I wasn’t really sure what else to offer? As others said I don’t want to offer too many options, but perhaps the options I’m doing are in the wrong places! What would you suggest for main options avoiding bread?

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A large bowl or two of pasta is filling and doesn’t cost much. It’s a nice alternative to sandwiches too .

Does this sound like an okay party spread?

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