Throwing parties can be a fun way to interact with friends, family and the local community. However, it can also be expensive. Many people don’t think about the price of fun activities, food and drinks, but it can add up quickly. Take pizza, for example; it can be a great way to please a large group of people, but when the rule of thumb is to buy a pizza or two for every three people, it can end up hurting your wallet.
If you only plan to offer a few snacks, you run the risk of having a group of people who are hungry and need someone to finish off more snacks. Of course, you can hire a service for a ride, like a NYC chauffeur service to pick up another round, but it’s easier and cheaper to plan ahead. These four party foods will feed a crowd, keep them full, and save you a little money.
kebabs
Kebabs put everything your partygoers want to eat on a stick. There are so many options that make them great for appetizers or the main course. You can make fruit skewers filled with fruits like pineapple, grapes and strawberries for a sweeter treat, or you can make meat and vegetable skewers with chicken or beef and peppers. You can even make cold pasta salad snacks with things like salami and tomatoes.
The advantage of these is that they are easy to prepare in advance, and you can make many different types if you have people who cannot eat certain foods or have allergies. If you want to make your party a little more interactive and make sure everyone gets their favorite food on their kebab, you can even set up a kebab station.
People can make a couple of kebabs that they like and then grill them. Some versions don’t even have to be cooked, so people can just take them as they please. Kebabs are a fun mix of a full meal and finger food. Throw some bread or other starch on a nearby table and you have a well-rounded meal. And since you can choose which ingredients to use, you can easily stay within your food budget.
soup
When you think of a party, soup may not be the first thing that comes to mind. After all, for the most part, people tend to have finger food available so guests can walk around and eat without the need for utensils. Well, with the right containers, you can do the same with soup. By putting the soup in small containers like shot glasses, you’ll have individual servings that don’t require utensils. Shot glasses can be quite inexpensive and there are a variety of fun ones as well as simple glass versions.
Some popular soup options are minestrone, butternut squash, tomato soup, and chili. There are also many options for cold soup if you want to have it prepared ahead of time and not have to worry about keeping everything warm. Soup can be a unique and creative way to feed a crowd. Throw in a couple of toppings on the side, like bell pepper, cheese, sour cream, and croutons, so people can customize their little tapas and you’ve got yourself a fun snack. Soup is also relatively cheap and easy to make ahead.
Mini sandwiches
Sandwiches are another option that gives you a lot of variety for a relatively inexpensive cost. Make fun sandwiches like grilled cheese, BLTs, cucumber sandwiches, sliders, meatball subs, and Ruebens like you normally would. Then just cut them into smaller sizes, like quarters. For things like sliders or croissants, there are mini versions available, so you can just make mini sandwiches without having to cut them. There may be better meals for those who are gluten-free, although gluten-free loaves of bread are available.
But you can make this work for most dietary preferences, such as vegans, vegetarians, or people who want to have meat available. Sandwiches can easily be made in an assembly line format, so you can get your whole family involved. And with four sandwiches coming out of every two slices of bread, you can easily make a lot on a budget.
Bananas dipped in chocolate
If you want to add some dessert to your party, check out the chocolate covered bananas. You can buy them in the store ready-made, but they are also cheap and easy to make yourself. Just take lots of bananas, cut them in half, put a toothpick in them and freeze them for a while. You can then cover them in melted chocolate and toppings like nuts, sprinkles, nuts or mini chocolate chips. You have a lot of freedom with these as you can use any type of chocolate and topping you want.
You can freeze them until you are ready to serve them. They work well for summer parties when everyone wants to eat something cool and refreshing. If you want smaller portions, you can also consider slicing bananas thickly. This gives you more portions and more bite-sized desserts instead of something people have to carry.
Want more than chocolate bananas? Since you’re already melting the chocolate, check out other delicious items for dipping, like strawberries, pretzels, and even little bites of cheesecake.