Help!! My ds's b-day "party" is Saturday afternoon. It was supposed to be just one friend from school over for cake and ice cream. Now, thanks to two sets of grandparents, it's going to be a zoo! We were trying to keep it small and simple because 10 we can't afford to spend mountains of money feeding a largr group of people, and 2) his birthday is the 23rd and he gets SWAMPED with gifts and gets overwhelmed. Our kitchen is a work-in-progress, with everything stashed in the basement, so we can't have the party down there, plus it's COLD!!
Anyway--do any of you have any ideas on some quick, easy, and cheap things to feed a bunch of people?? Or should I just stick with the cake and ice cream, since people pretty much "invited" themselves?
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Dont you just hate when your own family sticks you in a situation like this? I feel for you..Ive been there and done that many times!
If you really feel guilty about only serving cake and ice cream, how 'bout a big crockpot full of chicken noodle soup or chili? Add a pot of cooked macaroni on the side to add to the soup or for kids who dont like soup and want just butter on it. You could add some corn bread along with it for not much $$ too.
You could always his grandparents and tell them that the birthday boy would just LOVE to go to McDonalds for his birthday and then you could have dessert at your house! ;-) ;-)
Hmmm..I like the McDonald's idea, but getting there would be as much of a hassle lol!
Well, after scouring through my cupboards, I've come up with a bit of a game plan. The party is at two, so I'm not worried about actually "feeding" people. I'm going to bake up some hm tortilla chips and serve those with some hm salsa(canned this summer.) I've got the makings for ham and chesse wraps, too(sliced into appetizer rounds). I'm also going to do a cheese sauce(Velveeta) in my little crockpot for the chips. I've got a dozen bagels that can be made into pizzas(found a bit of pepperoni in the freezer, and a handful of mozzarella). I'm going to make a batch of soft pretzel sticks, too, for the cheese sauce.
I am SO glad that it's over lol!! The party went well--I had no leftovers to deal with, and I got all kinds of compliments on the chips(not too salty, mainly). I went through 6 jars of salsa! And here I thought I was being smart having the party at two, AFTER lunch. Everyone, especially the kids, liked the pretzels. I was afraid they'd turn out badly--I've only made soft pretzels once before, and I made the dough into sticks this time. But everyone chowed down on them and lived to tell the tale!
ajrsmom, the bulk of the stuff I made was from flour, which I always have on hand. The biggest problem was finding the time to get it done--thank God for my bread machine lol! Once the panic subsided a bit, I just made a list of things I would like to serve, then narrowed that down into stuff I could make without having to make a trip to the store. I fed 20 people for less than $8. My hubby was sooo proud of me!
I've got that taken care of already--it's called "Going to MIL's for dinner" lol! She did ask me to make a few batches of chips, though. She always has chips and salsa out, and they have to watch their salt intake. I'll be taking her my recipe lol!
We were trying to keep it small and simple because 10 we can't afford to spend mountains of money feeding a largr group of people, and 2) his birthday is the 23rd and he gets SWAMPED with gifts and gets overwhelmed. Our kitchen is a work-in-progress, with everything stashed in the basement, so we can't have the party down there, plus it's COLD!!
;-) 
Everyone, especially the kids, liked the pretzels. I was afraid they'd turn out badly--I've only made soft pretzels once before, and I made the dough into sticks this time. But everyone chowed down on them and lived to tell the tale!
