How much food would you want at an adult birthday party?

[pemberleypearl]

Posting for traffic and to hopefully get more responses as I would really appreciate the help. I've been turning this over in my head for a while and I just don't want to get it wrong.

I am throwing a party for my mum who is turning 60. Local bar/hall. About 70 guests. Party will be 7pm to midnight with DJ. Guests can buy drinks at the bar.

What food would you appreciate? I have to balance convenience of ordering party food versus preparing stuff myself. Ordering in can be expensive and making stuff is time consuming day of especially as I have a toddler to manage.

I'm now thinking of having retro sweet buffet (it's a retro party) and ordering pizza. Dominos have a 50% off £100+ orders. Would that be enough? And when to order it for?

Please help. I am prone to over catering normally but haven't had to cater for his many before and really don't want to mess it up for my mum.

Sweets would depend how many kids were coming - for mine there were a lot of kids as my own and nephews and nieces plus I love sweets as do many of my own age friends. There were very few sweets left but quite a bit if pizza etc - which was fine, we froze some garlic breads and ate pizza and chips all the next day!

Why would you assume everyone likes pizza? At least do some other things as well.
Personally I prefer a cold buffet at a party, it means people can eat when it suits them. Cooked meat platters, a cheese board, salads, pickles, dips, baguettes, etc can be ordered ready prepped or are simple to do yourself.

If you host there should be a good choice of food and drink to accommodate guests. Have a smaller event if you don’t want the costs.

Pizza and sweets sounds like a child’s party and I’d not expect that as an adult.

Thanks everyone for your input.

60 is definitely not elderly! Well my mum certainly isn't. She'll be dancing all night!

Mixed ages will be in attendance. Some kids, us grown up kids in our twenties and thirties (plus partners and friends), then people aged perhaps 40-70?

I don't want to do a DIY hot buffet as though yummy - it would need serving and I'd have to lug down the slow cookers. Multiple slow cookers to serve that many.
Cold buffet is what I've always done but would get in things like ready made platters if I went down this route. I'm working til late the night before and don't want to do loads on the day. Cheese and pineapple sticks are a must at any party!
I guess I meant something like dominos - a takeaway option. Though at least pizza is just sliced. Indian is a good idea in terms of easy to serve bits - bhajis, pakoras, samosas etc.

In an ideal world I'd provide a ready made cold buffet and then bring out things like bacon rolls at 10.30ish. But will try and do a mix of that. Simple but tasty cold buffet (ready prepped) and then order in something from a takeaway. Buffet available straight away. Takeaway at 8.30/9?

Just throwing a party is wonderful. I think pizza isn't cheap and cold domino's isn't great. Honestly I think sweet stuff rarely gets eaten. I've done a chocolate fountain but it's so messy. A really nice cake is enough.

I think that you should go stress free and stick to a cold finger buffet. Unless you have been made aware of a specific dietary requirement, don't try to over cater. Mass batch butties with a few mates is quick and cheap- or supermarket platters if in budget. Bowls of value coleslaw, decent sausage rolls etc.

Have fun xx

I did the evening buffet for my wedding for £150 from Tesco.

They do giant celebration pork pies, and stacked cheese cakes for just £30, plus huge platters of meats, dips, food bites, puddings etc.

I think that DIY would be madness compared to that - we had 100 people and paid £1.50 a head.

(We used M&S for our snack canapes during the drinks reception, but I wouldn't recommend. The food was lovely, but unlike Tesco they used horrendous amounts of packaging, and as such it was incredibly faffy to put together.)

The generation turning 60 and 70 invented adventurous and diverse eating. Many 60 yos go to gigs and festivals. Zumba

Pizza and sweets is not “adventurous and diverse eating” .

"Pizza and sweets is not “adventurous and diverse eating” "

I didn't say it was!

If I went to a party and they'd gone with the very unoriginal pan of chilli & jacket potatoes I'd have to get something on the way home. I really despise chilli. I know it's usually a 'people pleaser' but it's honestly not everyone's choice. I'd prefer a cold buffet.

I think a cold buffet would be best. Having only one type of food like Indian or pizza might mean that a percentage of your guests won't eat. I definitely wouldn't waste money on the sweets.

See I would prefer something like the chilli or an Indian, cannot have the pizza, jacket potatoes, sandwiches, sausage rolls etc.
Carbs/gluten/dairy are a nightmare to eat for many people.
Hence I go down the big pans of something (not necessarily chilli) or suggest people bring a dish. This way everyone is guaranteed to be able to eat something. It’s a lot easier than contacting guests to enquire about allergies and dietary needs.

Yea it takes a bit of organising to make sure you haven’t got 60 jellies, but it’s a lot easier than trying to cater yourself.

And 🤣 60+ want a traditional spread.
Maybe I have the wrong type of friends over that age, they would be very meh about it.

@SW16 flase teerh? I just gum everything

Teeth!!!

Aaargh. False teeth!!!

God it's a minefield isn't it!
I hate spicy food and sloppy food so wouldn't touch Indian or the chilli pot with a barge pole.

Traditional cold buffet would seem the best idea but is so carb heavy. With so many eating gluten free there's fuck ups to be made galore!

Vegetarians aren't going to be overjoyed with just bacon butties.

Personally - and i know this is no help - i wouldn't expect to be fed at a party starting at 7pm.

The idea of cold Dominoes wouldn't appeal either here. Also most people are quite fussy about their toppings.

Another vote for cold buffet from me.

This is one of the unintentionally amusing threads that I love MN for.

You will never please everyone.
Do whatever is easiest for you, falls within your budget and that you think your Mum will enjoy.

I dont think a cold buffet will work well due to the timings. You are expecting people between 7pm and 12 they will basically be after an evening meal. Not many people would have time to come home from work eat and get ready before they got to you at 7pm. I would look at pizza hit too and check who is cheaper. Maybe get some platters from Iceland that you can put in an oven or heat up ( depending on if you have those facilities). Morrisons fo party platters too, so if you did want to you could do a mixture of hot and cold food. Hope your mum has a fab time.

@Notso i'm glad it's not just me

I'm sorry OP - for finding the funny side - but if this were my thread i'd be half driven to cancel the whole bloody thing by now!

We went to a 30 year old’s wedding where she hired people from the local Indian restaurant to cater for the lunchtime meal. No idea of cost. It was in a very modern community hall. Caterers brought all the equipment and served hot food from their heated counter. We just queued up and sat at tables. Delicious food and a great success for all ages. I imagine there are other caterers who could offer different food options. It may be worth investigating? Then you could serve some kind of celebration cake after.

However, nothing wrong with a cold buffet.

I disagree, a cold buffet is fine, probably what most people expect and the most practical. Just because the party starts at 7 doesn't mean that everyone will arrive then, most people will arrive sometime between 7 and 8, which is when the buffet usually opens, not straight away. Most parties like this are on Saturdays anyway, with fewer people being at work at that day and people like to get there, get drinks and tables sorted, and say hello to people before starting on the food.

As long as the food is suitably varied, eg chicken skewers and salad bowls for the carb fearers, plus more standard offerings like sandwiches, crisps, mini quiches, pizzas, samosas etc, most people will be happy and the food will be plenty substantial enough for anyone expecting an 'evening meal'.

The OP has already said that cheese and pineapple will be offered, so a good low carb non meat option. I'm sure if anyone has very particular dietary requirements like gluten free or vegan, the OP will already know about this, or the guests will tell her.

I would prefer hot food rather than a cold buffet for an evening event.

@gingergiraffe we did the same for a party. DH's Nana brought herself a slice of quiche and a ham sandwich but everyone else seemed happy!!