by TweetieBird 14 Replies latest jw experiences
I am in charge of planning the resident xmas party (300 apartments that I manage) and about 100 to 150 residents will be there.
I already have a musician lined up but need ideas for food, theme, etc. $400 budget for food, etc. Any ideas? I am so not good at this.
$400.00 for 100-150 residents? Yikes.... what time is the get-together? Afternoon or evening?
Pasta is cheap and easy to make. If you're a member of Sam's Club you can get ready made meatballs for $12 a six pound bag. Turkeys and hams will be on sale all season, and all you have to do is stick them in the oven or a roaster. Five-pound bags of frozen green beans are cheap at Sam's, so you can make green bean casserole. Add stuffing to it for bulk. Add a tossed salad, (big bags of salad mix also at Sam's), rolls, and a few ready made desserts or and a sheet cake. Have coffee, ice tea, and punch and/or kool aid if kids will be there.
If you do go to Sam's, get Chinette plates, Member's Mark napkins, Red cups, and plastic silverware by the case. $400 is plenty to feed 100 to 150 people.
Before we moved we hosted the neighborhood Xmas party. No matter what fancy food I served (smoked salmon, brie, prosciutto, etc) everyone loved my meatballs, which are super easy. I just used meatballs from Costco, then you mix equal parts grape jelly and BBC sauce. Sounds yucky, but everyone loved it, especially the guys. Keep it simple, I like a spiral sliced ham, Honey baked if you can afford it, otherwise I am sure Costco has them. You don't need to bake, just let it come to room temperature. It's foolproof. Some dinner rolls, and a few side salads, and you are good to go. For dessert, pumpkin pie is always popular, cheesecake too, but it is more expensive. Some kind of punch always goes well. Hot spiced cider, or hot cocoa is also popular. Serve the cocoa with a candy cane.
For cheap decor, go to a Christmas tree lot and ask for their clippings, they will usually give them to you for free, they trim the trees up a bit on the bottom for the customers. These are only good for a few days because they dry out, but they look festive and smell heavenly. Just spread this out on the buffet and dining tables and tuck some nice wired Xmas ribbon in and around. I think you can get a huge spool at Costco for $10. A few ornaments here and there will add some color (you can find them super cheap at the thrift store, like 25 for $1.99.) An easy way to make the food look better is to elevate some of the dishes. I use a cardboard boxes covered in Xmas paper, use several different sizes. This adds dimension and makes everything more appealing, and easier to get at.
If you have tables for people to sit to eat, put the cutlery and napkins at the table in a pretty Xmas basket, that saves people trying to hold them while they fill their plates.
If you have the budget, get a Santa. My husband has done it many times, at our parties and at his work. If you can't afford a professional , you can get Santa suits for pretty cheap, less than $100, try Target. Kids love that. I made goodie bags with small toys, Xmas stickers, candy, peppermint sticks, etc., but really they cared more about Santa. Our last year before the move, one of the kids said for Christmas he wanted Chip and Lisa not to move - it broke my heart. They all knew it was my husband, but it made it almost better for them.
Good luck and Merry Christmas
If I were planning the party, I would have a container there and ask each attendee to put one dollar in it for charity. After the party, collect all of the money and take it to a local charity which provides holiday meals for the homeless and/or working poor. Christmas is about giving.
A raw vegetable tray would be a great menu item, especially for dieters. They can fill up on raw veggies and be less tempted by the stuffing and dessert.
Do you have a punch bowl? Fruit punch (there are many good recipes online and in cookbooks) is festive, and folks love it.
That seems like a somewhat slim budget to me, if you're including decorations and entertainment. You could have it at a time outside of mealtime so people aren't expecting a full meal. That way you can have cool snacks and sweets.
I did a cookie exchange once and people really had fun. If participating, they would all bring a certain number of cookies, and a paper grocery bag with their name written on it. Once everyone who's participating gets there, you just distribute the cookies among the bags. I think I had them pack them up in baggies so I didn't have to touch them.
Perhaps a tree trimming--everyone bring 1 ornament? Or Secret Santa? There might be some sort of activities you could find online that would be good ice breakers so no one feels awkward.
Does the party need to be a full meal or would finger foods be OK? I think for that money I'd do just desserts or just hors d'oeuvres, plus coffe/tea/punch.
The party is from 6 to 9pm. Forgot to mention that we always provide beer and wine as well, but I was thinking this year coming up with a christmas punch, one with alcohol and one without. If anyone has a good recipe, please let me know. The total budget is $600 but the musician I hired is $200.
I definitely want to go simple. Last year we had a cocktail party with hors d'oeuvres. This is my first year as manager and christmas parties are definitely not my thing.
I love the idea of finger foods and veggie trays. I do have a Sam's Club membership so I'm sure I will be getting all the food from there. I can get decorations from the Dollar Store and I love the idea of the tree clippings, LisaRose. I did the meatball thing for my son's graduation party and it was a big hit, will probably do that again.
Great idea, Mum, about the money for charity. We always support Toys for Tots and our residents never disappoint. We will be doing it again this year. We also always donate unopened food to a local food bank.
Thanks for all of the suggestions.
Some people like planning parties--maybe you could ask the residents if there is anyone who wants to volunteer to help plan it.
Yes you def need non-alcoholic drinks aplenty. Also some healthy items to snack on.
You are on too tight of a budget for over 100 people
I think you are going to have to do trays of finger food and drinks. On drinks, I'd stick with Beer & Wine. Wine is cheap, Kirkland (Costco) always has great bottles of their own brand for about $5-$7 a bottle. Check with your local grocery store deli or Costco/Sams on finger sandwiches, chicken trays, veggie trays.
Games are cheap. But, just do one or two. Adults want to mingle most of all. Kids need more games because they don't mingle.
What about decorations? Big Lots & Dollar Store are usually the cheapest.
You are going to need alot of paper goods, and those can be expensive. At your budget, I suggest Red Solo cups.
Make sure you bill it is a "Holiday" Party. Not a "Christmas" Party, or many non-Christians in your community could feel discriminated against. Apartment communities have to abide by the Fair Housing Act . . ..
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