Unexpected pizza host

[Poopgoestheweasel]

For reasons I won’t bore you with I have six adults and five kids age approx 8 coming on Friday evening for food and drinks. I’m so skint And time poor too. What’s the minimum I can offer? I think people will bring stuff but I don’t know what and I can’t ask.

Chilli con carne, or curry and baked potatoes for the adults. Pizza and chips for the kids? Depends on how old they are.
Everyone brings their own bottles?

Are you asking how many pizzas to order or asking what food to offer?

Baked potatoes with lots of filling. Beans. Cheese. Coleslaw. Should be pretty cheap?

Then a few of the cheapest supermarket pizzas in slices

If you’re skint, then say no. Why are you hosting so many people when you can’t afford to do it? Tell them no.

Or ask some to bring sides, some to bring a pudding and you get in a bunch of supermarket pizzas. Not sure why you think you can’t ask them to contribute.

If you’re after cheap I’d go for supermarket pizzas - probably 6 to feed 11. I’d add fries in air fryer, few rolls of garlic bread.

Can you ask everyone to split the cost of a takeaway and get something like curry and share?

We always get like, 2 curries and a few sides between 5/6 people and it doesn’t work out that expensive.

Supposed to be pizza and I genuinely don’t have time to sort jacket potatoes!! How many and what sides are cheap and easy?

If you have a slow cooker then buy Lidl/Aldi large tray of pork loin steaks (about a fiver) or a pork loin joint. Do a pulled pork recipe in slow cooker and buy cheap packs of ready sliced bread buns. There is a good free recipe on BBC Good Food

If you really can't be arsed you can basically make the pulled pork by chucking BBQ sauce over it and giving it about 7 hours or so in the slow cooker then tear it apart with forks.

Cross posted with pizza post!

It's fine to ask people to bring stuff-assuming they're friends/family? I would never want someone to be struggling to host me.

Get very cheap pizza bases a lump of cheddar mushrooms and a packet of chorizo

The problem with pizza is that you need a lot of it to serve 11 and they take up a lot of oven space. I’d switch from pizza to pasta with a load of garlic bread.

Farm Foods do massive take away styles ones for £3.49

But they take a lot of oven space to cook.

Heat up three large pizzas. Then spag Bol. 1kg mince and two jars. Garlic bread. Grated cheese. Diet Coke, water, jug of squash.
Assume they’ll bring sweet stuff or buy some ice lollies/ fake mini magnum things that will keep if you don’t use them.
Be cheerful and welcoming!

That many pizzas would need to be takeaway ones as you (presumably) wouldn't have oven space.
That will be expensive.
You NEED to tell the other 6 adults that the cost has to be split between the 7 of you or this pizza party ain't happening.
Personally with pizza for sides I usually just have salad and things like dough balls or halloumi dippers.

Just pizza, garlic bread and salad is fine. Don’t be making a bloody spaghetti bolognaise! 😂 Give people sides to bring. Someone brings olives, someone else carrot and cucumber sticks, some watermelon wedges, ice cream and brownie bites from the supermarket. All you need to do is heat up the pizza and garlic bread and whack everything out. I’d estimate half a pizza each.

Pizza, dough balls and salad. Asda a pizza, dough ball and fizzy deal which is pretty good.

They are coming to see you and hang out - food will not be the main highlight, you’re not hosting a 5 course dinner party. Nobody eats a whole pizza all at once. Do the kids first (3/4 pizza will be fine and the adults can eat the left overs), then 5 pizzas for the adults. You don’t have to put them in all together, once you take them out, put the next lot in. A couple of bowls of crisps and some crudités with a dip or two. Garlic bread if you want. People will just be picking a slice whilst standing at chatting. Ask people to bring whatever they want to drink. If someone offers to bring a dessert, take them up on it, otherwise some fruit and ice cream for the kids. Don’t over think it, everyone will have a lovely time. A pizza party isn’t a gourmet meal.

Also, I wouldn’t bother with salad. The whole point of a pizza party is to lay out a few pizzas and people can take a slice with their hands whilst drinking and chatting. They’re not going to be grabbing a handful of leaves!

Do pizza and pasta. Pasta is cheaper and kids tend to like it. Plus frees up oven space because you can’t do that many pizzas at once. Could do a basic tomato and also green pesto. Then a few pizzas. Serve with garlic bread which is usually quite cheap. Plus plain baguette which is cheaper still, kids also love it, and also doesn’t need the oven. Little gem lettuces with a bottle of caesar dressing chucked over for the adults to have some green if you want. Soft serve ice cream and cones if you want pudding. Get everyone to bring drinks.

2/3 margaritas for the kids. Then get 3 slightly fancier pizzas for the adults. Aldi does good pizza. Plus get crisps, a bag of carrots to make into sticks and some dip.

Cook the kids pizza first while the adults eat crisps/carrots/dip then cook adults pizzas

Ice lollies for kids for after (again Aldi is good here)

Ask the others to bring drinks

Aldi have several types of frozen pizza. Their everyday essentials range is 0.99 (10 inch) to £1.10 a pizza. The more expensive ranges have a bit more variety. Not sure about Lidl but I'd reckon they have similar offerings.

I would buy plain pizzas and a few extra toppings for people to add.
Pepperoni
grated mozzarella
sweetcorn
pineapple
hot honey

make pasta pesto and
melon with Parma ham

box of ice- pops