Ideas for feeding 10 adults and 3 toddlers

[graysor]

We’re having a small family gathering for dd’s 3rd birthday in a few weeks. They’ll be 10 adults and 3 toddlers.

What shall I do for lunch? Ideally minimal prep (as i also have ds 10 weeks), and easy to eat as we don’t have enough space for everyone to sit down at the table at the same time.

Chilli is a possibility, any other suggestions?

Jacket potato with options of toppings ?

Pizza
Curry and rice
tagine and cous cous
Buffet food
Hot rolls and potato wedges
Pasta? Something like a couple of big lasagnas

Jacket potatoes need a knife & fork so tricky without a table. How about lasagne, pizza slices, garlic bread, salad bits? Lots of finger food for kids and easy fork food for adults

Are you on a limited budget and do you particularly want hot food or is cold ok? I think the easiest thing would be to do a buffet, I'd buy in some fancy trays of sandwiches from m&s or the like, throw together a couple of salads (I'd do one green/mixed, one tomato based/Greek and one grain based e.g. couscous), nice bread, cold meats, cheeseboard, some bowls of crisps, dips, crudités and olives, and some trays of hot snacks which can be bought in frozen e.g. sausage rolls, samosas, filo parcels etc. If that's not substantial enough alone I would do something like a poached side of salmon or a hot gammon joint or a big pork pie for the table. Desserts can be bought in or something very simple like a trifle or cheesecake.

I do find the cost of buying in loads of buffet food does add up compared to just doing a single hot dish but easier to cater for different dietary/fussiness needs this way and it's easy to eat standing up!

Some quiches/savoury tarts or pasties with salads or a roast chicken with salads (couscous, farro etc). You could ask everyone to bring either a savoury dish or dessert for "potluck" or "Jacob's join" then you'd have no big prep to do or running out of fridge space.

Pulled pork buns www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/335613/slowroast-pork-rolls-with-apple-chilli-chutney
Venison burgers (can be bought from Sainsbury's)
Falafel stuffed pitta pockets or flatbreads
New York deli style pastrami bagels and smoked salmon and cream cheese bagels
Chilli chicken wraps www.schwartz.co.uk/recipes/chicken/chilli-and-garlic-chicken-wrap or hoisin duck wraps
Samosas

I like the sound of those pulled pork buns!