food for kids party on a budget?

billiburrows · October 2013

Where have you found the best prices for kid friendly food? i don't mean to be cheap but now that we have another kid i'd like to start being more aware of how much i'm spending for these parties. we usually end up having about 40 people at our house. usually adults. so we supply beer/wine, etc. to. i think we end up spending quite a bit of money on the food...

here's what i usually do:

Chicken (used to buy from chick-fil-a but found walmart or kuhns to be cheaper and pretty good)

pizza $10 each at costco

mac n cheese ~$15 for a huge premade one at costco

hoagies $6.50 for a foot long

veggies

cake (buy from a family member)

this is usually the variety that i have. any thoughts or recs for something less expensive? we usually do have left overs so maybe i'm just buying too much and maybe this year cut out the pizza or something.

Luckystar2 · October 2013

I don't think you can go wrong with just pizza at a bday party! I like the variety you do but it's unnecessary. I think most people and kids are happy enough with pizza and cake!

I do pizza and some chips/dips and fruit and dip. It's the appetizer stuff that can get pricey but I love apps! But I'm sure we could get rid of it if need be and be fine.

gwennythepooh · October 2013

If you have a little Caesars pizza near you, they have lg cheese or pepperoni pizzas for $5

otherwise I'd hit up aldi for snacks like pretzels, water/juice, etc.

amyjoy18 · October 2013

Mine always seems to change with the party--but the first thing that sticks out to me about your menu is that it is almost all what I would consider main dishes: Chicken, pizza, hoagies. And that is definitely more expensive than a main dish and a few sides.

You could do chicken, homemade pasta salad, baked beans, fruit salad. Then add in a hearty dip (like spinach dip, buffalo chicken dip; taco dip, reuben dip) and some dippers and be done.

Pulled pork is also easy to make and relatively cheap.

One that went over well and did seem to be cheaper than the others was a taco bar. I had hard and soft shells, ground beef, shredded chicken (or pork), beans, cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, olives, sour cream, taco sauce, etc.) I think I also had a fruit salad, corn salad and snacks.

I also do tend to make a lot of the sides myself which does save money. If we're having fried chicken, obviously that would be something I would buy.

egpitt22 · October 2013

For kids parties, I keep it simple, even for the adults. For Jake's party last year, I had a veggie tray ($9 at walmart for a large tray), a few bags of chips from Aldi, pizza (if you register for an online account at papajohns.com they will send you all kinds of coupon codes....I lucked out for Jake's party & they sent a 50% off your entire order code for that weekend! I think I got 6 large pizzas for like, $40!) and a cake from Sam's Club. Juice boxes from Aldi for the kids, pop & water for the adults (I didn't do alcohol for Jake's party last year)

MrsAmers · October 2013

I did quesadillas this year. Just cheese for the kids and more interesting ones for the adults. Some fruit, some veggies and chips with salsa and guacamole.

But I agree that pizza and a few sides is just fine.

billiburrows · October 2013

thanks for the great suggestions! its going to be a superhero party so i was thinking hoagies and calling them 'heroes'... and veggies for 'x-ray power' etc. if we do chicken it would be???

maybe we'll do a crockpot of meatballs and hoagie buns...that would be much cheaper than buying the individually made hoagies....and making noodles and sauce so people could choose spag and meatball if they didin't want the hoagies... now we're getting somewhere maybe....

maybe pizza party only for my other son's birthday (his first will be in july)...

taco bar sounds like a great idea! we did hot dogs for an adult party once too.... hmmm.

denalea · October 2013

I would suggest limiting the options. You're not obligated to feed everyone's tastes. It's only one meal, and if you have an option or two and some sides, people will find something! For instance, if you had spaghetti and meatballs and buns for meatball sandwiches, I would just add a tossed salad to that and be done. Maybe a fruit salad, too, if it was in season.

I love the "hero" idea. I would serve two different options (one turkey and one ham) and the veggie tray. Also, maybe a fruit tray. I don't think you'd have to have chicken with that. You could make them yourself, too. Get some Mancini's bread and make the giant loaves into a sandwhich, then slice into 2-3 inch slices. People can always go back for seconds.

Also, consider skipping the alcohol? Or have it if people ask, but don't put it out in a prominent spot.

I usually make a giant container of iced tea and I sometimes make lemonade, too. (way chepaer than pop) If you do serve pop, do 2 liters instead of cans. And limit options there, too. One kind of Pepsi or Coke, one Sprite kind of drink, and then maybe a 3rd option (Gingerale, Mt. Dew, Orange, etc.)

Happy planning!

kris356 · October 2013

I agree that you are offering a lot of food. I would choose one main dish then do sides.

You could do hot sausage and meatball in a crockpot and baked ziti with a salad. OR Pizza and a salad OR chicken and pasta salad/garden salad. Then have a veggie tray, chips and some dips like Amy suggested.

I totally agree that I would have 2L instead of cans since so much gets wasted. Then maybe just beer and wine if you want alcohol. I would start collecting during sales.

AmandaJLewis · October 2013

because EJ's birthday right after Thanksgiving, I usually keep her party chill. Plus our families are small. So I just had them over for cake and ice cream last year. She didn't have a friend party last year, but she went to Lego Fest with a friend and that was her "party". I think this year I will offer her a friend party either someplace else or here with a limited number of friends from like 1-3 or something and just provide snacks. Then another cake party with the family another time.

I am just not a big theme party planner and try to ignore the pinterest birthday bonanza hype some people do every year. I exercise my crazy mom powers in other places. Like building barbie house furniture and hand making tooth fairy pillows on a whim. But my point is, you can choose to do something different and low-key if you want. Your kids will be alright.

Luckystar2 · October 2013

I think a make your own hero subs would be good. Do some of the meatballs and then have deli meat and cheese and lettuce. I wouldn't do pasta. I think sticking to just a make your own hero sandwiches would be great. Don't have a ton of variety but I'd have a few non meat options (cheese and some veggies).

kris356 · October 2013

AmandaJLewis said:

because EJ's birthday right after Thanksgiving, I usually keep her party chill. Plus our families are small. So I just had them over for cake and ice cream last year. She didn't have a friend party last year, but she went to Lego Fest with a friend and that was her "party". I think this year I will offer her a friend party either someplace else or here with a limited number of friends from like 1-3 or something and just provide snacks. Then another cake party with the family another time.

I am just not a big theme party planner and try to ignore the pinterest birthday bonanza hype some people do every year. I exercise my crazy mom powers in other places. Like building barbie house furniture and hand making tooth fairy pillows on a whim. But my point is, you can choose to do something different and low-key if you want. Your kids will be alright.

I totally agree. We never had birthday parties, my dad used to bribe us not to (he has miserly kids, what can I say). My parents used to invite my grandparents and a friend over for cake and ice cream. As we got older, my parents took us to dinner and we got to take a friend.

And 38 years later, I am still alive and totally fine without having huge parties every year.

Meghan&Rich · October 2013

I agree, that's a lot of main dishes. I like to have fun with the details of parties, but food is where I keep it simple. For the last few parties, I ordered pizza and had a side of fruit salad and a green salad, plus birthday cake. (We had about 30 or so people there.) I always stress about not having enough food or variety, but that has been more than enough. I went all out for things like 1st b-days or baptisms, but for just a regular birthday, keeping the food simple has been the way to go!

food for kids party on a budget?

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