Does this sound like an okay party spread?

[bdaypartyfood]

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!

As I say… you don’t think saying what you said is unkind - then I don’t want to think about what you think is unkind!

Well we’ll have to agree to disagree won’t we - don’t ask for feedback if you don’t want it 🤷🏼‍♀️

Lovely

'You need more substance and less variety'

Absolutely this - a lot of a few things rather than bits of a lot of things

A buffet with lots of little bits of things ends up looking like an absolute dog's breakfast and incredibly unappetising.

If you're going down the sandwich route, how about a huge pot of soup to go with them, and your suggestion of chips would go down well. So a full round of sandwiches per person, a mug of soup and some chips.

Then you could have some big cheese and fruit platters, 3 different cheeses (usually a good cheddar, a soft cheese like brie or camembert, and a blue cheese) with strawberries and grapes, and either some crusty bread or a couple of varieties of crackers.

Then, as pp have suggested, huge trays of brownies and finish up with birthday cake (or use the brownies instead, and stack them in a pyramid with a candle on top.

It’s fine just not enough and avoid forks it adds another dimension, I did all finger food.

I did a buffet for 35 of which the majority were adults but there were 7 kids.

Each platter of sandwiches had 20 quarter sandwiches on, one of each type

Spicy Chicken and salad
Cheese and ham
Tuna and sweetcorn with mayo
Egg and cress

40 cocktail sausage rolls
40 piece Chinese platter from Iceland party food
20 vegetable samosas
20 breaded chicken Gougons
Cheese board with six cheeses on and grapes plus lots of crackers
Mixed salad in my full size mixing bowl
4 Quiches, including one vegetarian
Falafel, 2 packets with a yogurt and mint dip
Two large tubs of olives, black and green
3 bowls of crisps
Cheese and pineapple hedgehog, everybody loved it.
Big plate of chopped up red and yellow peppers
Punnet of cherry tomatoes

Jelly and ice cream, with a choice of bowl or ice cream in a cone
Large birthday cake
I made 2 full size tray bakes a school cake and a chocolate and caramel cake
Friends baked and brought brownies, banana cake, rocky road style cake, flapjacks, coffee cake.

There was plenty and a lot of cake was left, one of my friends is a professional baker so she always bowls up with something amazing.

The best buffet I ever did was half a 70’s children’s birthday party and then what would now be about £150 worth of take away food from the local Chinese take away who did me a special deal.

But you couldn't resist the five year old comment? Did it make you feel better?

Some of us have said it in a much kinder way though. You sound horrible.

70 guests
All friends and family
and not one has offered to bring a dish or contribute financially

wow Op - you got the short straw

Agreed
it was a nasty little jibe
I wonder whether would sway that to a friend in RL? Probably would given doesn’t seem to even regard it as being anything aside from feedback

I’d enjoy your birthday party and its a lovely thing to do for your partner. It’s the thoughtfulness of a surprise party and the enjoyment of being together with friends and family that counts.
Could you just do a really lovely cake - does it have to have savouries? Just invite people to “ come and celebrate DPs birthday and join us for birthday cake and tea? Or word the invite for birthday cake and nibbles and just provide crisps, nuts savoury biscuits and cook a few big bags of sausage rolls in advance.
The hotdog idea is a good one too - 70 sausages and sliced onions roasted in he oven. 70 packs of rolls, ketchup and mustard .

Thank you for all the comments, both helpful and slightly mean! I do realise I was fully barking up the wrong tree with my initial idea.

Now I have sat down and had a look, we have invited 63 people and I am expecting about 10 of them to decline or not turn up. There are 45 ‘absolute definite’ (best friends and family) attendees. So perhaps a more manageable number for catering etc.

I am wondering if with less people I can manage on my budget. I do really like the hot dog idea, but I don’t have a slow cooker! I can perhaps try and borrow a couple but I imagine I’d need a few!

Definitely have lots of friends who can help with a production line so the prep isn’t an issue for whatever is decided.

Thanks for all the advice on numbers and choices available, I have taken it all on board. Other than the fact that I’m clearly childish with my original choices but that’s obviously some people’s opinion 🤣 I know what the families will eat and I can genuinely assure you it will be beige buffet central that they’d want!

Yes, no one has offered to bring food or contribute. I could perhaps ask for money but I do feel quite cheeky doing so. Instead I might ask if people could provide, say, dessert, meaning I may have enough of a food budget for a full spread.

I could start the party later and have less of a food issue, but the people coming don’t often get in the same room very much! So I’m keen to have as long together as possible!

What is the capacity of the venue?

Odd to have to pay hire fee when they force you to buy drinks at their bar. Usually just a minimum spend

It’s up to a maximum of 100 people in the function room! I thought it was odd too as I’d never heard of it in the town where I am from. But all the function rooms here required a fee for hire and they all require you to purchase their own drinks from the bar!

The fee was £100 and I could get £50 back if I used their catering, but I can’t afford their food anyway, and it comes with a stipulation that if anyone is caught with their own drink you don’t get the £50 back. So I wouldn’t want to risk it!

It seems an expensive function room hire for a labour club to me, but perhaps I’m in the minority where it has usually been a minimum spend etc

What an awful venue

they are set to make a packet for the bar for this number

When is the party?

You haven’t sent out invites yet so I’m guessing some way in the future so I reckon family and friends will offer to pitch in with providing food

To cater finger food for a party of 70 guests, plan for about 8 to 10 bite-sized pieces per person for a full meal, totaling roughly 600 to 700 total pieces.

Someone asks for feedback and you should accept anything and everything thrown at you? You denigrated this Op and if you truly can’t see that - then it somewhat makes it all the worse

I don’t know where you are, but in the Midlands we have loads of places that sell hot samosas . They are cheap, filling, delicious and generally veggie- you can stipulate. 50 samosas is about £35.00. Although I once had a party where a teenage boy ate 14!

Ah op I think you have coped great here.

i LOVE the pie and peas idea.

any chance you could chat to some local butchers, bakers and see if a deal could be struck?

takes the work off you as well.

Way more food. For 70 people I would have 12 pizzas plus sandwiches for a start. Hope you have a great time

You've had a rough time on here! I would bump up the sausage rolls/sausages and maybe more chicken (strips/ghoujons maybe) Things you can pick up and eat easily.
The sandwiches are going to be a ball ache to make and keep cool, make sure you delegate them out 😆
I hope you have a lovely time x

If I was doing this I would order the sandwiches from Morrison's as they will be on a big plate. It takes a lot of the work away. the pie idea also sounds good.

@bdaypartyfood I’ve sent you a PM.