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!

If you have time and less budget, look at Iceland. I did party food from there on a budget with lots of skewers, sausage rolls, cocktail sausages and chicken strips etc but because they needed preparing they were really cheap!

The seventies called, they want their buffet back

The menu reminds me of a child's birthday party tbh, a selection of nibbly things that are not expected to fill them up, just enough to stop them being hungry. I understand that you want to minimise cooking and prepping time, but depending on how long the party is supposed to last and the timing, it might need something less snacky and carb heavy, and a bit more filling especially as there will be alcohol served as well. It wouldn't work for my family and friends, but you know your guests better. Personally, I would be hungry. What about chicken, either roasted or drumsticks? Pizza is a good shout but I wouldn't add the chips tbh.

It’s fine to keep things simple and have easy food. I just don’t think you can have enough of it to feed 70 people for £200. That’s £3pp basically. If you do this for either 4-6pm or 8-10pm and say snacks on the invite it will be much easier to cater.

I think most people will take one of each of the dessert items if they are small.

When you say a few bags of chips for 50 adults plus kids, id suggest 15-20 minimum

What about some tins or jars of things that keep well that you only open as many as you need? Eg stuffed peppers, filled vine leaves, fruit salad, melba toast and pate
Homemade rice salad is filling and cheap if you're not just doing finger food!
Eidt to add some of the things we pop in a rice salad cos when I googled recipes they're all a bit bougie 🤣 tinned tuna, red onion, hard boiled eggs, cucumber, tinned meat, mini pickled onions, gherkins, olives whatever you've got in the cupboard with a big slashing of salt and oil would work!

But some people will take 2 mini sausage rolls. So you definitely need more

Also - the vegetarian quorn sausages - hide them from the meat eaters until the vegetarian has had what they want.

I'm veggie and have been a gatherings where the meat eaters have devoured all the veggie options and the only food left has fish or meat in it. So the veggies don't have enough/anything to eat even though it was provided because hungry humans will descend on a buffet like a plague of locusts!

I like the sound of your buffet as someone who is fussy! I think simple foods are best and there is no need to go fancy.
As others have said though you need to up the amount. You need to anticipate people picking up multiple items. E.g. sandwiches people may pick two cheese and two ham assuming they are cut into triangles, which would therefore only be one whole sandwich but would chip in to your pile quite quickly. Same with sausage rolls, I don't know anyone who would just take one. Most people take around 3 of each thing.

Obviously you know your family and whether they are big eaters but if people know food is provided they are unlikely to eat dinner beforehand and therefore will be expected more.

Also you say kids won't take much, but based on kids party experiences they are the worse! They will load their plates up with everything (and then not eat it).

I like that style of party food but I do agree its nowhere near enough to provide a buffet for 60-70 but definitely fine if you go with the invitation saying snacks/nibbles and perhaps cut the number of things on the list but provide plenty of a small selection of things. If I were doing this I’d go for:

Cheese and ham sandwiches- loads
Mini sausages (ones you’ve cooked yourself- way nicer than cocktail sausages even if cold)
Cheese straws
Crisps and dips- decent selection- Doritos, mini popadom style ones, ridge cut crisps (loads across the length of the table)

Loads more i would say.

Egg mayo/egg mayo spring onion or cress.
Tuna mayo/tuna mayo spring onion.
Quiche.
Chicken legs
Chicken nuggets (kids?)
Pakora?
Cheese/pickle sticks?
Cut hotdog/cheese sticks? ( 80s girl here 😁)
Potato salad?
A pasta salad?

Im starving for a buffet now 🤣.
Hope your partner has a lovely birthday ❤️

I've just thrown a party recently, I would go more. We had around 50 people come, including kids, and we had 160 cocktail sausages,80 goujons, 4 platters of sandwiches,and an assortment of treats and crisps etc. Everything was was gone by the end of the party.

OP when it was DH big party we contacted a local pizza place and asked for a deal on X amount of pizzas and chips to cater to similar numbers to yours. It’s really suited our crowd well. I can’t remember how much we ended up paying but it was hassle free and people were happy and definitely came in cheaper than £10 a head. Hope you enjoy the party

Don't bother getting chip shop chips. It will cost you a fortune (when money could be spent in a better way) and they will be horrible and uneaten once they've gone cold. Plus you'd need to get at least 10 portions to feed everyone and that will cost you a quarter of your budget.

Also ditch the fruit. Or have a very small amount. Fruit is always left at any buffets I've done or been to. Fruit is too expensive to have it wasted on a buffet for so many people. Different if it's 10-20 people but not for the number you are having.

No to coleslaw. Only need coleslaw if you are having a proper salad and potatoes and you're not.

Chicken bites are little bite sized breaded pieces of chicken. They’re found in the deli section of a supermarket near pork pies, sausage rolls and cocktail sausages. They’re very common in picnics and buffets. My children love them.

I wouldn't be bothered about the sandwiches but you can't only do 50 sausage rolls and 50 cocktail sausages. That isn't even enough for one each! Also need to look at the salad, 2 cucumbers! My children would prob have half a cucumber each so that would be gone straight away.

I'd kick it off at 7.30 and have the invite say drinks, nibbles and birthday cake!. That hints to people that full food service is not happening, so they can scoff before they go! Maybe a bottle of special offer prosecco + glasses on each table would set a nice scene. Pity about those who don't drink it, it's for the pop of the cork! Ten bottles around 80-100 quid. Venue supplies the glasses. I'm just thinking out loud here!

Each table has a big platter of crisps, nuts, savoury crisp like things such as cheese wotsits and so on. Pick your own choice, it will still be great. Then add in the birthday cake (make sure you can bring your own, some venues won't allow that) and sweet things like little cakes etc.

I'd prefer to lower expectations and frame it as a gathering rather than a mad party. Do what you can afford. 70 or more people is a big catering job that's not for the faint hearted or the slim of pocket!

At least you're providing food, OP! I've been to several evening birthday parties recently where there's been maybe a drink at the bar if you're lucky, and then nothing else... not a sausage. (Pardon the pun.) This seems to be an increasing trend nowadays, so it might be an idea to write "finger buffet" on the invitations in case everyone fills up beforehand and you end up eating sandwiches and sausage rolls for a week.😁

Things often used to be that way at evening parties - just nibbles because people were assumed to have eaten dinner before they came out. I can't see anything wrong with that, personally.

I would be looking at 150 sausage rolls at least. At my buffets the faves things are always sausage rolls, chicken, cocktail sausages. I don't bother with sandwiches I always do baguettes cut up.

You’re just being ridiculous and you must know it. Unless you didn’t bother to read the posts.

That's not enough sausage rolls for one each!

Any reason why the sandwich fillings are so boring?

Nope - not even nibbles! 😫

Hot meal and wine for free. At a birthday party 😂.

More pizza and more spring roll