How to Estimate Food for a Party
Throwing a party can be a rewarding experience, but it can put a lot of pressure on the host to provide food and fun for guests. One of the most important parts of party planning is having an adequate amount of food and drink for guests. Having too little can leave guests hungry, while buying too much food can get expensive and leave the host with a lot of leftovers. Estimating the approximate amount of food you will need for a party can help you plan how much to buy without having too much or too little. Does this Spark an idea?
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Instructions
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Contact all of your guests and make a list of everyone who is attending. It is difficult to estimate how much food to get if you don't know exactly how many people will attend.
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Serve around six ounces of protein (for example, meat, seafood, or poultry) per person; multiply the number of people attending by six to estimate the amount of protein you need. If you are going to serve pizza or pasta, plan to serve four people per pound of pasta or three to four pieces of pizza per person.
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Plan one snack or appetizer offering for every three to four people. For instance, if you want to serve chips and salsa as a snack, have two bags of chips if you are having six to eight people.
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Provide a minimum of two drinks for each person; multiply the number of people attending by two to estimate the number of beer bottles or glasses of wine that you should plan for the party.
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Plan one dessert portion per person. Desserts can be tricky because they may not come in single portions. Buy enough dessert so that each person can have a single portion; there will often be people who don't want dessert, which will allow other guests to have seconds.
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Tips & Warnings
When in doubt, plan to buy more food and drink than less. If you are not sure about the exact number of people attending, it is a good idea to make sure you have enough to go around.
Choosing foods that don't spoil quickly can make it more convenient to save leftovers.
References
- Photo Credit party food image by Bartlomiej Nowak from Fotolia.com
