Really cheap really filling snacks

[Waoop]

If you had to provide snacks in a rented home for 4 days for 30 people and wanted them to be really inexpensive what would you choose?

Context: family rental for 4 days in October the cost covered by the invitees.

We have been allocated snacks for 4 days as our contribution and we are trying to disguise that we have a very very small budget. Financially we are really struggling. The exact brief was a 'snack basket for each room'

There are three main meals a day, but from seeing what people are planning for these some are really light. Yogurt and fruits for breakfast and sandwiches for lunch. We are in charge of the snacks so expect people maybe hungry.

Looking for really cheap and filling snacks. We have more time than money so we can shop from multiple stores.

What sort of budget should we set aside and what would you recommend?

For the rooms? How would that work?

It says rented house, is there no kitchen?

Honestly it's only 4 days so I wouldnt bother with the faff of home baking which you need to store and transport. Just buy a load of biscuits, chocolate, crisps, crackers, sweets - maybe some packaged cakes and breads. Nothing wrong with cheap and cheerful. Aim for bulk over quality given the number of people and it sounds like they won't be too fussy. Enjoy your holiday.

you seem to be putting alot of pressure on yourself here when people providing the other meals are keeping it v basic - your brief isn’t to make up for small meals being provided just some treats for the room. Don’t stretch yourself too much.
presuming some / most of the rooms will be shared then put a box together with fruit, sharer bags of popcorn, pack of biscuits, crisps or crackers and some sweets. Don’t try and do it all in one trip, keep going back to b and m or whatever and just see what’s cheapest.
can you gather some small boxes to cover in neutral wrapping paper?

Go to Aldi for ingredients.

If you want it to look like you haven't cheaped out I think homemade is the best option, especially if you are time rich - cookies, flapjack, rice krispie cakes etc are cheap to make even with butter (avoid marg if possible)

Save jam jars between now and October for decanting nuts/popcorn into.

Ditto cardboard boxes - cover with wrapping paper or brown paper and ribbon to give a pretty hamper effect

Yes, but she is to provide snacks for the rooms. Unless there are mini fridges and microwaves in each? I'm guessing there isn't space to provide more food needing any sort of prep. Good idea, though.

Good idea!

Megan Markle did this on her show-worth a look for tips and-if you want a laugh, follow it up by watching Vanessa Feltz do a spoof of it on her YouTube channel.

Cook a massive tray bake of flapjacks. A second massive tray of chocolate brownie (Nigel Slater has a great recipe). Go to lidl and get cheese straws really cheap. Cook popcorn 3 ways (salt, sweet and savoury, parmesan and herbs make a great savoury) and pack everything nicely with a role of cellophane and some ribbon.

I agree with this - making separate snack baskets makes it harder to do things in bulk and drives the cost up. I'd aim to set up a couple of 'snack stations' that people can help themselves from instead. Then you can have family sized tins of biscuits, a big bowl of fruit, your traybake, and it's much less hassle. You can top the stations up daily if needed.

If you like the popcorn idea get a hot air popcorn maker from amazon or b&m. We spent £15 on ours and its great. Makes loads, easy to use (our 6 year old uses it himself). We got all the different flavour shakers as well and it comes out when ever there is a party. People just seem to stop and stare at it popping out!

Plain pre-made fairy cakes are very cheap in the supermarket and you can either decorate yourself or leave the icing amd sprinkles for people to do their own. Even adults like doing that.

Tesco value tortilla crisps. They’re dirt cheap and really yummy.

thank you everyone this has been really helpful

My teens go mad for custard cream biscuits. Big pack is 65p

DD and her friends love custard creams and chocolate bourbons. In their case it’s because those were the biscuits the primary school teachers always bought in to give out as class treats for good behaviour so they’ve become associated with being good and getting a treat. Makes me happy because they’re the cheapest biscuit in the shop 😀

Go to Home Bargains or B&M and buy packs of oat bars, biscuits and mini sweets. Then add bananas and apples.

Bake! I get sooooo many compliments on a buttermilk dark chocolate cake and the ingredients are dirt cheap. It’s very easy to make. Flapjack bites? What store cupboard ingredients do you already have? Perhaps we can help you make something with minimum extra ingredients needed

I would look at online discount stores. Often short life span, so don’t shop too early, but really good prices on branded items.
This sort of site:
https://lowpricefoods.com/
https://approvedfood.co.uk/login/

Hunt out supermarket offers and stock up week on week until the hols. Check out B&M as they often have "failed" things that are quite nice ie didn't do well on regular sale in supermarkets or market trials. I frequently do events where choccy biscuit snacks required so wait for offers at supermarket at 1.25 for 7 bars I know I noticed B&M had 14 packs for £2 of rockys and penguins.

Also home made tray bakes cut into slabs - flap jacks, sponge cakes with choc chips, fruit cake or tea bread, biscuit cake, banana bread etc. To be honest this is quite an expensive one compared to meals as its all the things with sugar tax or have sky rocketed in price.

I would also bake cookies and brownies and package up in advance. At least with baking it is possible to keep costs down with places like Lidl for flour & sugar and cheaper chocolate, cheap eggs etc. I must admit for things like brownies I have bought packet mixes and tarted them up with extra chocolate or marshmallows over the top and they have always gone down well. Also smaller loaf cakes could be a plan

Find someone with a Costco card, they do pack sizes way too big for normal life, portion sizes much the same! Unless the majority are under 5 you will still need a decent budget though. Definitely bread for toast plus butter, jam, Nutella, if you have a waffle maker take that and make up batter, squirty cream, chocolate sauce etc and fruit. Muffins are filling, stay away from branded as that will up the cost.

Some great ideas here.

I’d buy cheap small sandwich bags or small party bags and some of the string stuff you put round presents or ribbon or similar - things look pretty.

Then get cheap packets of biscuits - Tesco / Asda own brand ginger nuts / chocolate digestives / custard brand etc and put a couple in each bag and tie the top with the coloured ribbon / string. Enough for a little bag twice a day. Then get whatever sweets are cheap and do the same - there are usually offers on Squashes / Skittles / Chewy Sticks etc. Party Rings are regularly on offer. Tesco has the snack bag packs of fine for a pound the moment of Party Rings / Cookies / Cadbury Animals if that’s in your price range.

Big bag of Marshmallows split the same way.

Can you make fudge or Banana or Ginger Bread - they keep well and you could wrap them the same way.

Have a lovely time

In my world "snacks" means crisps, chocolate and biscuits. Nothing fancier than that.

Yes Cadbury have definitely reduced their prices recently, I'm sure it's because people have stopped buying it since they introduced the palm oil.
I think it's a nice idea to home bake but honestly a 4 day old scone isn't going to be very nice. Flapjacks would store better.
I'd probably go with;
Bananas (Aldi organic ones are 6 for 99p)
Crisps ( MN favourites pom bears are £1.49 for 6).
Pack of rosemary crackers 89p in Aldi with a tube of Primula cheese n chive spread (79p Aldi).
Cream crackers (Aldi approx 50p)
Peanut butter (£2)
Packet of Jaffa cakes x 24 (Aldi £1.35)
Pack of choc digestives (Aldi approx £1)
Mixed nuts and raisins (59p)
Home made flapjack or rice crispy cakes.

I reckon a basic basket per room is doable for approx £10 per room.

I’d get a tonne of apples and bananas maybe some punnets of grapes.
multiple packs of basic biscuits- custard creams, digestives etc.
block of cheese - loads of crackers.
Big bags of nachos, grated cheese the cheese , ad some jalapeños (buy a big jar) shine them on a baking tray in the oven- serve with salsa and hummus.
tube yoghurts. That’s it!

These choc chip brioch from Aldi are a great snack. They are also individually wrapped so can be split. Get some of those tubs of mini muffins could split and put into freezer bags. Morrisons have 16 multipack of golden wonder crisps ATM for £3.

But please don't hide it from them that you're struggling for money.