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#Post#: 18860--------------------------------------------------
50th Birthday Party - Help!
By: Hanna Date: November 12, 2018, 12:16 pm
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Hi All,
I am hosting a big birthday party for my fiancé in a few weeks.
I reserved a small local B&B and it ended up being more
economical to just rent the rooms so we can stay there overnight
with some of our out of town guests.
I have sent invitations to 76 people. :o Hoping to have about
55 max. Party is 6-10pm.
I hired a bartender and two servers, so that they can manage
everything and the clean-up will be limited. A friend
(experienced bartender) will figure out the drinks/bar
situation. We will have the ingredients for Manhattans and
probably a few other cocktails listed on a menu, along with
beer, wine and non-alcoholic beverages.
My neighbor is a wonderful cook, mostly Italian food, and I am
hiring her to make some of the food. Now I need to nail down
the menu.
I want to have hor d'oeuvres and also some heavier food. This
is all cocktail style, with limited seating, but four rooms for
people to mingle.
Here are the ideas I have so far:
Large meat and cheese platter (including olives, nuts, etc.)
I'd like to have some appetizers but not sure what. The people
helping can pass a few of these. (or maybe not, I will just let
them decide).
Maybe:
Bacon wrapped dates
Asparagus spears with a dip
2-3 kinds of Bruschetta (pesto, tapendade, regular)
focaccia twists (Neighbor made something like this before and
they were delicious.)
HTML https://www.redbookmag.com/food-recipes/recipes/a22833/pancetta-focaccia-twists-87/
Then some heavier food:
Pasta - maybe Rigatoni with Vodka sauce
Meatballs - maybe the large kind
Leaf salad
Pasta salad
Grilled vegetables served cold (zucchini, squash, peppers,
portabella mushrooms)
I also will order a cake and let my fiancé decide what kind.
Need to do that immediately.
He likes Poor man's cake. Does anyone that bakes think we could
pull off poor mans cupcakes? This would be in addition to the
regular cake.
I am open to any ideas - this was all just what popped in my
head!
Would love to hear your thoughts. I must be nuts because I am
also having the annual Friendsgiving on Sunday, and trying to
plan our Wedding.
#Post#: 18862--------------------------------------------------
Re: 50th Birthday Party - Help!
By: QueenFaninCA Date: November 12, 2018, 12:34 pm
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If there is not enough seating, make sure all foods can be eaten
with just a fork and don't require a knife. Or rent some of
those tall tables where people can eat while standing.
Thinking about it, I would probably rent the tables. If you have
substantial amounts of food, juggling your plate and drink while
eating is no fun.
#Post#: 18865--------------------------------------------------
Re: 50th Birthday Party - Help!
By: Hanna Date: November 12, 2018, 12:52 pm
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[quote author=QueenFaninCA link=topic=807.msg18862#msg18862
date=1542047671]
If there is not enough seating, make sure all foods can be eaten
with just a fork and don't require a knife. Or rent some of
those tall tables where people can eat while standing.
Thinking about it, I would probably rent the tables. If you have
substantial amounts of food, juggling your plate and drink while
eating is no fun.
[/quote]
Good point about making sure the food is easy to eat while
juggling!
I just looked at pictures of the venue and there is: large
dining room table that seats at least 8, couch and chair
seating for at least another 12, 3 café tables with two chairs
each. Also other tables around so people can rest plates on
those. I think if we 50 guests at least half will be able to
sit at any given time. But I am going to see if they have a few
tall tables we can rent also and if not I will get them
elsewhere. Thank you!
#Post#: 18866--------------------------------------------------
Re: 50th Birthday Party - Help!
By: Hmmm Date: November 12, 2018, 1:08 pm
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It sounds good to me. My only suggestions:
-Switch to pickled asparagus and maybe other pickled vegetables
since asparagus is not in season right now.
-If doing meatballs, I'd do small ones because trying to cut a
meatball with the side of a fork while holding a plate is hard.
#Post#: 18868--------------------------------------------------
Re: 50th Birthday Party - Help!
By: Rose Red Date: November 12, 2018, 1:24 pm
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Will there be servers or someone overseeing the food table?
You'd want make sure there's enough food for all the guests.
Yes, I've been on these boards too long ;) ;D
ETA: Maybe have bowls instead of plates for the pasta and salads
for easier handling since there may not be enough seats.
#Post#: 18873--------------------------------------------------
Re: 50th Birthday Party - Help!
By: Hanna Date: November 12, 2018, 1:58 pm
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[quote author=Rose Red link=topic=807.msg18868#msg18868
date=1542050640]
Will there be servers or someone overseeing the food table?
You'd want make sure there's enough food for all the guests.
Yes, I've been on these boards too long ;) ;D
ETA: Maybe have bowls instead of plates for the pasta and salads
for easier handling since there may not be enough seats.
[/quote]
Yes, I have two servers coming.
#Post#: 18902--------------------------------------------------
Re: 50th Birthday Party - Help!
By: caroled Date: November 12, 2018, 6:59 pm
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I know this wasn't even part of the original question, but I am
curious. In reserving the B&B and renting the beds for the
night, does that include hosting a party for 55-75 guests on the
owners property? Meaning plates ,glasses, silverware,, service
pieces, seating, (fire coded for that many people) etc...? Will
you be providing all these things or do you expect the B&B to do
so . Do they normally rent out for events and large parties? I
know there are places that do, but you categorized this as a
small establishment. I know you didn't ask about this, but as I
said , I'm just wondering.
Were I a B&B owner and a guest wanted to host their party on my
property, I would want any and all details hammered out as to
what was expected. I would want to know the menu ahead of time
especially for a dinner meal not normally part of our offerings,
and this dinner was to be pasta with a red sauce, I would be
more than a bit apprehensive about any possible damage that
could result to my home and business. Realistically, someone in
a group that size is bound to drop something, sauce, red wine...
I'm sorry, I'm not trying to bring the party down. Just be sure
you are both on the same page as to what is expected from them
and you and what they can reasonably offer so no one is
disappointed.
It sounds like a wonderful party and a delicious menu.
#Post#: 18906--------------------------------------------------
Re: 50th Birthday Party - Help!
By: Lilac Date: November 12, 2018, 7:41 pm
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Sounds very nice. I concur with making everything as bite-size
as possible.
Will there be crispy snacks like pretzels, chips or breadsticks?
If people are milling around I would probably skip the rigatone
& anything with gloppy sauces, and just do hearty finger foods.
Or do little pre-filled cups or cartons of the messy foods.
That’s how I’ve seen it done at nice charity galas.
Stuffed mushrooms spring to mind but they are quite labor
intensive.
#Post#: 18913--------------------------------------------------
Re: 50th Birthday Party - Help!
By: Hanna Date: November 12, 2018, 10:14 pm
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Hi Caroled, great question. Yes, the venue routinely hosts
events larger than what I have planned and the legalities are in
order. The reason I’ve rented the rooms in addition to the
event space is that if we have an event there while they have
others guests, we would need to shut down a earlier than I’d
like. They are not affiliated with a caterer, but do rent basic
items like tables and dishware. I’ll likely rent all of the
dishes, glassware and cutlery elsewhere, though.
The pasta I am envisioning won’t have a gloppy red sauce, more
like what I would describe as a Jersey red; if you dropped the
pasta it would hardly leave a mark.
#Post#: 18915--------------------------------------------------
Re: 50th Birthday Party - Help!
By: caroled Date: November 12, 2018, 11:19 pm
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It all sounds wonderful. And I totally understand about renting
all the space and to not have your party influenced by the
timeline of other guests.
I only had one other question, but I think your last post sort
of covers that for me... Is the owner of the B&B ok with all
these guest milling about and eating dinner in parlors, sitting
rooms and such? I know I've seen some B&Bs that have a lean
towards Victorian, and not only do the settees look less than
comfortable, but I wouldn't want to feel responsible for any
damage to antique furniture that my guests could potentially
cause.
Bacon wrapped dates are fabulous... we have a ladies tea for
about 6 guests the first Sunday in December for a couple of our
neighbors. I always end up making 4-5 dozen of these for that
few people... they love them and tell me every year how the look
forward to them. Now I need to look up poor man's cake.
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