What to feed 30 x 5 years olds on a tight budget

[Ontheperiphery79]

I know it's not an AIBU, but DC bday party next weekend; I need to provide food on a shoestring.
They'll be eating at 13:30 and the venue allows 30 mins in the party room with no flexibility. They'll be very active for the hour preceding this.
Please throw some ideas my way re: what to feed and how best to present it. There are 30-ish of the little darlings to feed.
Help!

Since when are strawberries "faux healthy"? Honestly...

I always feed on a tight budget. I pre-plate up the food. I feel buffet style can be stressful. At that age, I would have given something like a quarter of a cheese sandwich, a sausage roll, some form or carrot batons or fruit (a token healthy thing), a few chocolate fingers or party rings and a few big bags of the cheap share-bag crisps in bowls in the middle of the tables.

Tomorrow, for my 11 year old it will be half a sandwich, sausage roll, babybel, pepperami stick, biscuits, crisps, can of pop or bottle of water. They are so over the token healthy food now 🤣

Doing individual lunches works out more expensive with more waste as some will leave the yoghurt, fruit etc. I second chopping up pizza small. Maybe cheap cocktail sausages, party rings or biscuits, etc.

In my experience they are usually too excited to eat properly. I remember having to bin lots of expensive strawberries and cut up fruit/veg from food boxes so put this tupe of thing in middle of table so you can at least rescue and use yourself.

Pom bears, marmite sandwiches, cocktail sausages, party rings would be the way I'd go.

Oh and crisps and cheap ham in sandwiches, as well as jam sandwiches.

jam/cheese/ham sandwiches, a few bowls of the supermarket own brand party crisps you get (cheese balls, bacon rashers ect), cocktail sausages, veg sticks, grapes and mini smartie cookies (really easy and cheap to make) and a couple of jugs of squash on the table. I know it’s not exactly the healthiest meal, but there should be something for everyone to pick at and really shouldn’t cost you much at all.

I’d be popping to Greggs for sausage rolls, taking a bottle of ketchup plus individual fruit jelly pots or similar. But I’m the shit mum who never served anything remotely resembling a carrot baton at a kids party.

Happy meals are three quid are t they. That's ninety pound. Love to understand peoples idea of a tight budget.

Cheap hot dog sausages with ketchup or those economy pizzas. Kids love them. No waste. Lots of crisps and a birthday cake.

Yeah, forget the carrot batons.

Pre-plating / boxes / sandwich bags are the way to go. It is much easier to control portion size as if things are on a plate kids (and parents) will take 5 of something and eat 1.

At a 5 yr old party I did a small sandwich, a couple of cocktail sausages and sausuage roll (it is cheaper to buy the frozen ones), I then got smal little snack bags and bit a few of the cadbury animals in each, and I think I did hula hoops as well (about half a bag each), however the likes of Home Bargains sell random crisps very cheaply. I then put in a small box of raisins into each bag. Drinks I had squash, but the cuppa cup style drinks are as cheap as chips.

What's the budget? Can you hear stuff up or limited to cold food?

This is inspired!

In 3O minutes they won't need much so small portions

30 Happy meals would be £100 before you even get started on cake.

Jam and marmite sandwiches, cucumber & carrot batons, mini sausages, bowls of crisps, Aldi imitation biscuits of some kind.

I would put on plates in middle of tables to avoid individualised waste

What's the budget?

Think back to the parties of the 80s. Stuff like strawberries are really expensive. Do chocolate spread, jam and ham (big family pack) sandwiches on cheap white bread. Kids love it. Especially kids from middle class families where white bread and jam is a rare treat. Then 2 huge bowls of the cheapest crisps you can find & a loads of cheap own brand biscuits (jammy dodgers etc). Then stick cheap squash on the table. Get a huge tray bake cake (or make your own) and serve that as pudding. Go to asda at closing time and get the bread and stuff for 10p. My kids are over the moon with a jam sarnie, handful of crisps and a chocolate biscuit. Don't worry about healthy stuff- it's one meal and the healthy stuff massively ups the price, but if you feel really guilty chop up a couple of cucumbers and stick that on the table for the kids to ignore. Poundland is great for this stuff. You could feed 30 kids for £30.

You can get frozen pizzas in asda for like 80p, they're not too bad either

Tesco - 50 sausage rolls (frozen to cook) £1.55.
Two loaves of white bread - £1.60
Frozen budget pizza (cheese or pepperoni) - 75p each
Butter and sandwich fillings (cheap) £7
30 bags of crisps £3.10

Plus cake

Easy

You won't need loads of food.

Popcorn is cheap and can do big bowls
Budget crisps
Prep half sandwich per child
Dilute squash
Load own brand biscuits
Mini sausages are always huge hit

Jam sandwiches
choc spread sandwiches
cocktail sausages
cheap crisps
cucumber sticks
tomatoes
jaffa cakes and party rings
fairy cakes
popcorn

think an old school kids tea party

Happy meals?
strawberries?

God, Mumsnet's idea of low budget 🙄🤦🏻‍♀️

I'd do a classic party tea like my Mum used to make in the 90s so sandwiches with a few fillings like cheese/ham/tuna mayo/jam, crisps in bowls, maybe frozen cocktail sausages or sausage rolls if can be bothered to cook and probably homemade fairy cakes with water icing and a smartie or jelly tot on each because they're easy and I love them and don't like supermarket cake oh and squash to wash it all down with, probably spend £10-£15. I certainly wouldn't bother with any fruit or veg at a party tea it just seems cruel!

Cheese / ham / jam sandwich with cucumber / carrot and little packet of sweets

Then do a couple of chopped up melon platters and some fairy cakes that you’ve made yourself.

Any dietary requirements ? Veggie / Halal? Allergies?
This is very important