Need Advice Quickly for Christening

we usually do our parties ourselves because of cost. we always expect 50-60 people. you can do frozen meatballs or roast beef... (Sam's club has the best meatballs). you can buy lunch meat and dinner rolls and make your own small sandwiches. some dollar stores have those nice metal trays with the lids to display them on. and easy but not as nice looking way is to just buy hoagies and cut them smaller - that cost more but everyone loves it as long as you go to a good hoagie place. we also do roast beef sometimes. always get your rolls fresh from a bakery the day of, that is the key. Bake Ziti is another one that's i found with my last party was pretty easy to make if you don't mind using Ragu. (some people really like to use homemade sauce) but the san georgio recipe on the back of the ziti box is the best - use fresh parsley. My parties usually run no more than 200 dollars maybe 300 if i go with the hoagies rather than make my own sandwiches.
good luck, it can get stressful when you do it yourself, if you have a family member that can help you with picking up the rolls and stuff, you should do that because you want to concentrate on your child and not miss the day.

I agree - pasta is the best way to go. The baked ziti or lasagna would be perfect. If you want to do sandwiches....throw sliced roast beef or turkey in a big crockpot with gravy.....slice up rolls and you are done. Have a large green salad, chips and pretzels too. Perhaps a family member will be willing to make another side-dish for you?? I held both of my sons' christening parties at our house. I made food...and some of the family brought dishes too. It was a big help. Just a thought.

HI,
We have both a Sam's Club and a BJ's Club. The "warehouse" type grocery shopping. Either place you can probably pick up either enough sides or the stuff to make them. Chips, carrot/celery sticks, dips, cheese squares, etc. Large bags of shredded cabbage and bottles of mayo for cole slaw.

My own recipe for cole slaw that has been a hit for years and came from my Mother..... one bag of shredded cabbage (the small size you get at the grocery store) per 2 to 4 people. Add about 1/4 to 1/2 cup mayo, mix well. Sometimes I will add a few dashes of paprika on top for some color. No need to add sugar or vinegar like stores and delis do, tastes great as is. One bag from Sam's/BJ's would probably be enough for I'd say 6 to 8 maybe more, it's been a while.

Most sandwich shops, or convenience stores that sell sandwiches will do the 2 foot sub. Most will make more than one kind. They will tell you how many each sandwich will serve and they are usually very inexpensive.

Most grocery stores can do up sandwich platters, they can run expensive, but most will also slice meat and cheese to order and all of them here, (my town in South NJ) also sell bulk size bags of different types of sandwich rolls.

I also have a minestrone recipe that is supposed to only serve 4 to 6, but I swear I get a bigger pot of soup every time I make it. It feeds a family of 4, with Dad having seconds, twice from the same batch. Let me know if you want the recipe.

Good luck!
A.

B. B Pasta is one of the cheapest ways to go. Make a couple of pans of baked ziti. Make one with out cheese for people who want to say they are watching their weight. I hate what I am about to tell you but buy premade meatballs get some rolls buy a couple of bags of tossed salad a few different bottles of salad dressing, a sheet cake and you are all set to go. You can make the ziti up now and freeze it for your big day. Pasta goes a long way you can feed a good amount of people for a little bit of money. Good luck and God Bless.

If you belong to sams or bj's see how much there sandwhich platters are. we shopped around for my sons first birthday. the first place we checked-shoprite wanted $90 for the same thing bj's wanted $45 for. There was lots of meat and cheese. ask how many people are usually fed per platter of meat. buy your own bread. make some of your own goodies if you have time,like deviled eggs,macaroni salad,potato salad.usually sams or bj's is also reasonable on their condiments for the sandwiches. best of luck.

Hi B.!
I have found that Baked Ziti or rigatoni goes a long way and everyone loves it! Of course you need to keep it heated with a sterno, but you can probably borrow the set up from someone. Go to a wholesale club and get frozen meatballs, to. You can order rolls there in their bakery too for sandwiches. If you make your own sauce, it is much less expensive. Make a large tossed salad and you are good to go! I bet family menbers would be happy to bring something as well! Good luck and many blessings to your little one!