To get outside catering in for a 5 year olds party?

[BakerBear]

Or am i being lazy?

Dd will be 5 soon and is begging me for a party. We have never done her a party before so have decided that when she starts school we will invite the whole class and hire out a room.

The room doesnt do food so we would have to provide our own.

I have a 4 month old and i really dont want the hassle of a buffet for 30 kids. There is no kitchen there so i would have to prepare the food at home and bring it all in.

The party is a dance party which dd will love.

Would you get catering in? Is it extravagant for a 5 year olds party? Its £4.50 a head.

Or am i being lazy?

Thank you for all suggestions.

I never knew m&s and waitrose did their own childrens party stuff.

Will definitely do this instead of a caterer

If you can afford it it's not extravagant and it certainly isn't lazy. I've only ever once done the food for a kids party myself and it was fucking soul destroying. Waitrose and M&S do fab party platters for kids but you do still have to collect it and take it to the venue yourself. Your caterers sound great value and it will save you an awful lot of hassle. Go for it!

Order M&S sandwich platters and dips etc. Or another supermarket that does it. Not lazy at all. It's your choice what you spend your money on, and I'd consider it worth it!

Friend got local chippy to do sausages, chicken nuggets and chips for £30. Then just did juice cartons

I've never done catering for dcs' birthday parties. Local bakery does a great basic buffet for £3.50 per head. Other years I've had pizzas delivered or sent someone out to the local chippy. We've even done Macs happy meals

I would definitely do this. At dd's last party we had the place organise everything instead of having the hassle of sorting it ourselves. If you can afford it then why not? Lunch for 30 kids sounds like a nightmare to me! You are not being lazy just making life easier for yourself!

One of the ways to reduce hassle is fruit shoots (or own brand equivalent), also less risk of spillages.

We're catering our first 'in a hall' party soon and the only thing we have to make is sandwiches. Everything else can come out of a packet. Though we might do carrot and cucumber sticks if we are feeling virtuous.

Apart from sandwiches, everything else is a case of opening packets!

Ready cooked cocktail sausages
Sausage rolls
Crisps
Biscuits
Bag of pre cut carrot batons
Breadsticks

I am very experienced with bought-in party food. Waitrose cakes look nicer but imo their sandwiches aren't as good. But they deliver.

M&S do better sandwiches, fruit kebabs and veg sticks. Don't think their biscuit/cake range is as nice. They don't deliver.

I actually went the other way this year, having bought in food for previous parties, I decided it was easier to do it myself. My timesaver was buying crustless bread.

What about a stack of pizzas? Or a mini picnic box like you get at Ikea?

Do you have an entertainer booked to lead the dance element?

IME there are 4 key elements to a successful party:

Good entertainer (or preferably a team of them) who handle as much of the party as possible.

Successful food arrangements- if you don't feel confident to do this definitely outsource. Bought in platters is a good compromise.

Good party bag planning. If you are putting slices of cake in consider how you will get them into the bags, it takes much longer than you think. I've just been to a party where the party bag was a great cupcake in a box- neat solution.

Snacks and beverages (tea/ coffee) available for parents. Best parties I've been to the wine's been flowing and magnums of champagne brought up from the cellar perks of a country prep.

Order pizza. The kids will love it.

A sports arena near me offers a party package. Face painter, bouncy slide and castle and scooters/ride on etc. With the package the local Pizza Hut offer 30% off or something to deliver to the party! It's absolute genius!!!

Tesco also do platters you can order online. Order a delivery slot for the morning and stock up on crisps, sausage rolls etc.

Making sandwiches is a slog when you're trying to do a million things at once.

We've always done catered parties - either a theme party where the entertainers do lunch box style things for kids, party bags the lot, or a venue which includes food as part of the thing. Then a few platters from m&s for the grown ups. Makes life a lot easier!

Yes we did for joint 5th disco party in June. Fabulous to not have to worry about it and there was enough to feed the parents who stayed too!

If you have money go for it - but bear in mind the kids don't really eat much so don't be gutted if you pay £4.50 a head and throw most of it in the bin.

If you really don't want to make sandwiches or whatever, you can even get plates of sandwiches from tesco.

Then buy all the other ready made stuff like crisps, drinks, and whatever.

We did takeaway pizza party and kids loved it alongside packet of crisps and cup cake 🎂

I was thinking of feeding parents too. I ve never been to a kids party were parents were fed.

Im not sure how i would do tea and coffee.

There are two entertainers who are doing dance and party games (they provide the prizes)

I was thinking of giving everyone a sweet cone rather than a party bag as i know most party bags are a waste of money with a piece of cake.

Pizzas or McDonald's would be cheaper.

I ve put everything in the basket online in m&s and it comes to £130 and thats with a family members staff discount. But that doesnt include paper plates, crisps and drinks

Just order some of the kids sandwich platters and desserts from M&S, it will save a fortune.

Paper plates and cups, sorted!

Yes it is lazy but meh why not saves you the bother ☺