Is this enough drink for BBQ at the weekend?

[BananaCaramel]

Posting for traffic. I have 19 adults and one little girl coming for a BBQ on Saturday. I’m pretty confident there is enough food but I am worrying I haven’t bought enough to drink for everyone. I have a shop coming tomorrow morning so I have time to add more.

I reckon I have eight people who will drink and the rest won’t because of driving/ don’t drink.

One person I have called a non-drinker might have one or two but generally isn’t a big drinker otherwise. Obviously people will also bring drink.

For the drinkers I have:

• 16 cans of Holsten Lager
• A 5L keg of “nice beer”
• Pimms (I will make jugs of it)
• 1L Aperol for spritz
• 2x bottles Prosecco plus extra Prosecco for the spritz
• 1 bottle red wine (it doesn’t feel like the weather for this to me I just know one person is a big red drinker so I got it in)
• 1L each Gin & Vodka (+ mixers)

For the non drinkers

• 4L Diet Coke
• 2L regular lemonade
• 2L cloudy lemonade
• 12 cans of alcohol free beer
• 1L alcohol free gin
• 8 cans of fancy flavoured sparkling water
• 6 cans of ginger beer
• Some fruit shoots for my niece

My question is about volume not about what you personally enjoy/don’t enjoy drinking - I have ordered stuff I know my guests like.

@90yomakeuproom i was wrong about the keg - it holds 18 pints!

I'm loving contrary all the answers are.... I think you've been told to buy more and less of everything

I have been caught out in the past. So keen for that not to happen again. In my experience summer evenings that are warm and sunny are few and far between, and many might be tempted to make the most of it! You can always store the leftovers for Christmas 😀

You provide food and music, you don't provide everyone's bloody alcohol! A decent bottle of wine costs £10+ alone. My friends and I have been getting together every few months for 15 years, not once has it ever been expected that the host provides alcohol. It's very expensive and we all drink different things and different amounts. Even if you "bring a bottle" if you're expecting the host to supply any alcohol at all you're a freeloader. Only exception is a wedding and even then I wouldn't expect anything more than a glass to toast the speech. Nothing chavvy about that at all thank you, quite the opposite!

@RedIsNotMyFavouriteColour we obviously move in different circles. I find it beyond tacky to have to pay for my drinks at a wedding. It was different when I was 20 but when you are a grown up, I do think if you host, you pay!

The social contract here is people take it in turns to host and when you are a guest you never show up empty handed

@RedIsNotMyFavouriteColour would you really host an event and not provide any drink?

This isn't how it works in my group of friends.

We would provide the alcohol for a party, albeit generous amounts of red/white/rose/lager/ale/cider rather than a fully stocked bar with a range spirits etc.

Also at every wedding I've been to all drinks at a wedding breakfast have been provided plus alcohol for toasts. In some cases its also been a free bar all evening, other times it's been an amount put behind the bar and then it's a pay bar once that runs out. I've never known anyone expect guests to pay for their own drinks with the wedding breakfast.

I find the idea of hosting and not providing drinks rather cheap and rude tbh, and would definitely not be the done thing in my group of friends - not since student days tbh.

Equally, however, everyone would always bring along a bottle to add to the mix or some other gift when attending.

That's just how it works in my social group - I didn't realise that was unusual?

I wouldn't have more than that in, but then I would expect my friends to bring contributions, plus there's a Tesco five mins walk away if it turns out we need more.

@mrsm43s it isn’t unusual! The other poster is unusual. If you host, you host. If you don’t want to host then you don’t. Beyond teenage and student years it is very rude not to provide adequately for guests…assuming you like the people you have invited!

We grew up.

The problem is someone out of the drinkers may just really fancy a crisp glass of white wine. Sometimes I fancy fizz, but only a glass.

I think you need wine of every colour.

I don’t think you do, if I visited a bbq and was offered a choice of this or that wine a beer or multiple soft drinks if happily choose one of those options.

I agree re. The rose. But a bunch of us all went to a friend's house last week and every single one of us brought a bottle with us.

That's plenty they are also likely to bring drinks

I’d always bring a bottle if I was drinking.

I thought "grown up" etiquette is host provides enough drink for everyone, everyone brings enough for themselves plus a bit extra, host is left with a wierd assortment at the end?

Per 10 people I’d buy 6 bottles of wine/Prosecco (for a summer bbq 3 white 3 Prosecco) and 30 beers. This usually affords me leftovers, but I hate running out so like to have some left at the end! The pimms and aperol are a nice idea but wouldn’t bother with g&t or v&t.

in terms of guests bringing drinks I like it to be a nice to have rather than assuming and catering as such. I usually say “if you like something particular to drink please bring it but otherwise just bring yourself!” And normally everyone brings something.

And yes, plenty of alcohol free beer for drivers!

Yup, exactly that!

Then declare, "so much alcohol left over, we must have another party!" and do it all again - at which point more alcohol will be bought to ensure there's plenty of everything, the guests will still continue to bring more drinks, the left over collection gets bigger and everyone has a very, merry time bbqing in the sun for the whole summer.

Or maybe that's just us?

I wouldn't serve spirits at all. I would add another bottle of red wine and some fruit juices. I'm not a big drinker, so I would be looking for less alcoholic things I can add mixers to, (and I don't like prosecco ) so maybe some white wine which can be made into a spritzer. What about cider?

Right so I now have

• gin and vodka
• aperol
• 3 x prosecco
• 2 x white wine
• 2 x rose
• 20 cans of holsten
• Keg that holds 18 pints
• pimms

Honestly, for 20 ppl, I'd get 6 red, 6 white, 6 rose, 2 boxes lager, 2 boxes bitter, 2 boxes cider, a box of alcohol free lager and about 20l of soft drinks.

I'd expect there to be plenty left over as ppl will probably bring a bottle.

I wouldn't serve spirits, aperol, pimms or prosecco.

Sainsbury's have 25% off 6 bottles of wine at the moment- possibly other supermarkets too.

It depends on your guests tastes. For example, me and my friend would drink 3 bottles of prosecco between the two of us at an afternoon BBQ, easily.
How about some cider? A nice fruit one maybe if the weather is to be nice

I think you still need more prosecco.