AIBU to think there's a way to make better ending to the leftover of party food?

[prayfordirection]

Have a huge kids party on the way. While still in shock for the number of confirmed attendances, I'm wondering how much all the food plus the just-in-case snacks we ordered would be left uneaten in the end... Huge waste to throw away (even for food recycling). I have no intention to torture the entire family by forcing everyone to consume cold sandwiches and sausage rolls as their meals for the rest of the week..

Any suggestions to make the food/snacks have a better ending???

Thanks!

Offer pack-ups as people leave?

Yes ask people if they want to take anything home some won't but some will fill their boots and take it. I used to buy freezer bags and say to parents to help them selves on the way out. You can always freeze cooked sausage rolls etc

Very nicely - applicable to all buffet style foods - exactly why would you want to eat something that has been out for a minimum of two hours, breathed over, sneezed over, coughed over, and fingered by people who have scratched, picked their noses, wiped their backsides, not washed their hands, and in the case of small children, possibly licked, bitten, nibbled stuff and put it back on the plate.

boak

Urgh maybe just bin it OP just put me right off buffet food that did.

Do party boxes.
Put in a couple of sarnies andnpicky bits. Unopened pack of crisps, cake that is individually wrapped etc etc so everyone has thier own portion and can either take it home if not eaten of the ifs that aren’t opened you can keep

Buffets don't need to be a health hazard. Keep stuff covered, keep the cold stuff cold and the hot stuff hot. Provide tongs and let the parents/ helpers make the selections for the children.

At my last dc's party I boxed it all up into happy meal style boxes, when I knew how many were coming I put them out on the table, and left the others in the cool box to take home and eat/freeze/giveaway etc
Doing it this way meant that any that were left over were not contaminated in any way by snot etc.

Also means one kid can't hog all the cakes and that sandwiches and the veg sticks left ;)

Say at the end that people are welcome to take anything if they want it, and then recycle the rest?

Tbh though you will be surprised how much a group of small dc can eat in a small amount of time

I second what pp said about packing per person: box or bag containing sandwich, crisps, fruit bag etc.
As much wrapped as possible: then only the sandwich needs to be thrown out if not eaten.

My friend kept the crisps and packaged cakes and breadsticksee wrapped up until the fresh stuf was consumed.

Don't underestimate the amount of sandwiches that won't get eaten. They're labour intensive to produce. Why not keep them to an absolute minimum and cut up lots of pizza instead. Don't put out all the food at once, and there's no reason why you can't hold back the cakes until the savoury food has been eaten. You could also do the food in shifts with the sweet stuff at a later point in proceedings.

Don't put everything out at once on the table, that way you still have food that has been in the fridge all the time, and you can re-fill any plates that are empty. Anything not put out will still be fresh for those who want to take it home. Also, don't make too many sandwiches, they seem to be left more than other party foods.

What age range? Where is the party? What are you planning to serve?

I'm clearly the only fat fucker who takes it home and finishes it off them.

I love a soggy sandwich dipped in that dried, crispy top-layer hummus gets when it's been left out of the fridge.

We had a party where they were catered for and every child said beforehand if they wanted either ham , grated cheese or egg. Everyone got a packet of crisps, and a little choc bar like Freddie’s or 2 ginger kit kat and a small carton of juice. Each child had this in a little cardboard box.

No waste, I will never spend money on wasted food again. You could give them a small cake and or mini packet of haricots.

Sandwich choices

You could pack it up and distribute it to any homeless people you have in the area? We stay next to a large city and sadly there are a lot of people on the streets :(