Which of these would you prefer - cast votes please!

[IAmBackDidYouMissMe]

We've invited some friends (two parents, plus 3 DC) to join us for lunch on Sunday.

There'll be 6 DC in total, the eldest is 9 and the youngest are 4. Generally OK eaters, no allergies or anything.

Our dining table only seats 6 and the dining room is miniscule so no option to botch something together with a pasting table or anything .

Therefore, I need to do two shifts of lunch. The idea is that I'll feed all 6 DC first, then dismiss them to play whilst we have an adult lunch in reasonable peace.

Which of these strikes you as the better bet?

Option A:
Children's lunch of 'party food', e.g. little sausages, pizza slices, humous & veg etc.
Adult lunch of something like lasagne, or tagine & couscous, green salad etc.

or

Option B:
Prepare 2 separate shepherd's pies and serve one after the other.

or

I need as much prep as possible to be done ahead because we'll be at church earlier in the morning, and frankly with 6 DC around the place I can't face roasting tins full of blistering hot goose-fat and the like.

I would do option A, most kids like that sort of lunch.

I'd prefer option B

or - do they have to sit at a table.

Could you put a large plastic sheet or similar down on the floor in the living room and let them have a Sunday picnic inside?

I'd go with A - quick and easy to serve up, and children are likely to enjoy it, even if they don't particularly like one element there's plenty of choice.

Then the adult meal can be sitting in the oven till you're ready, if you do something that won't spoil by being left a bit longer if the children take their tme eating.

i'd sit the kids in front of the telly whilst eating with the grown ups in another room

......unless this is some MC must impress with aubergine and olives type affair, in which case i would go for the shephers pie , cos with finger food the kids will be fucking about all day

B as otherwise you will be fannying on with two separate meals. It has got to be easier to do the same thing twice. Also with A there is too much input, taking you away from the general merriment.

I'd set all the kids up to eat the same food in a separate room at the same time.

lol expat - last time I ate at a house (my exSIL's as it happened who are terribly MC) where there weren't enough seats at the table the children sat at the table and we vegged out in front of the TV with ours

No, thankfully they're not the kind of friends we have to impress!

Have just been reading the slow cooker thread and I suppose something in the slow cooker could have different portions fished out of it at different times with minimal washing up.

If I can think of something that I can get past my fussy-drawers DD who doesn't like anything from the slow cooker, then I'll be home & dry.

Also with A, the children might not eat enough in the first place as they might not see it as an actual meal. And then they will be bumbling round the table when it is your turn asking where theirs is. Definitely B.

You could do something similar to the children's lunch in Option A for everyone except makes parts of it a bit more adult - some nice salads, some nice cold meat etc.

Option A sounds fab and something that the kids would love!