christening buffet?

[sarafet]

aidens christening is on the 9th november. it's costing a fortune which we really don't have. i've priced buffets and the cheapest i can get a decent buffet for, ie not just sandwiches and nuts, is for £4 a head. we're having about 55 guests, so over £200 just for the buffet we are struggling to pay bills never mind all this.

my mum is giving us £100 and my gran is also giving us £100 towards it. i feel bad taking it, but we're totally struggling. so i thought to cut costs we could get a costco card and do it ourselves. suggested this to mum and she went off on one saying, well don't expect me to help you etc, it's far too much work!!

i know it would be a lot of work, but surely heating up sausage rolls, chicken, making sandwiches etc can't be too bad? the mass is at 12pm, then the christening at 1:15pm, then the buffet afterwards. if i could go to the hall before 12 oclock mass and just put everything out - already on the trays but covered.. eeeeek i don't know!!

do you think it's too much work to do that, the only thing is, it would be less than half the price..?

thoughts? xx

 

[Bee]

if you think you can do it and you price everything and it works out cheaper then go for it!

 

[First Baby White]

Hi Sara,

Not really much help as we havent had Harry's christening yet but this is what we plan to do as I was pricing up buffets and we have around 75 people going and I am half pay due to maternity so just couldnt afford to pay someone to do it. What we plan to do is cook the chicken, sausage rolls etc the night before and refridgerate and chop the scotch eggs, cheese and pineapples, sausages on the sticks etc the jight before also. We will then make the sandwiches before working on the principle of 4 sandwiches per person so 300 sandwiches which is 150 rounds of bread. You can pre slice the cheese in advance and then all you have to do it butter the bread, mix the tuna and egg mayo and add so it really shouldnt take that long. You could even just use barms, butter them then leave the fillings on a plate for ppl to add. Like yours our ceremony is at 12.

Hope this helps, If anywhere out there has done this I would really love to know if it worked out also?

 

[sarafet]

Hope this helps, If anywhere out there has done this I would really love to know if it worked out also?

me too!! you're right, it's just far too much money to hire someone your idea sounds good, i just don't want it all to go wrong the night before or on the day then it'll just be a disaster

 

[First Baby White]

That should of said anyone lol
I know what you mean you dont need the added stress but whatever you decide will be perfect, I have been to christenings where nothing has been done for a buffet so ppl dont always expect one anyone and the most important thing is that it is aiden and your day so dont stress and let it ruin it for you

 

[Sherlock]

Have you told people you are having a buffet? If not then I'd maybe not worry about doing one. Just serve soft drinks and nibbles. By nibbles I mean crisps, veggie sticks, cheese sticks, dips and so on. Maybe a few sweet things like some flapjack and brownies (buy from Sainsbury bakery section in mini packs) and leave it at that.

If you do go ahead with a buffet I'd skip sarnies tbh. They take a lot of work and if there is a tear in the cling film then the bread goes dry as does the filling. Again I'd do the above but include some other things also.

Things you could include

quiches, cut them into slices
pizza, cook earlier to serve cold
sausage rolls or cocktail sausages (If you want to make things a bit fancy do a honey and wholegrain mustard coating on some of the sausages)
Chicken drumsticks (BBQ sauce on them when cooking)
More crisps, dips and salsa etc.
Cheese board (don't go mad) with some French stick bread and butter (leave it whole and people can cut off what they want)

Also a few pre made pasta dishes are good. Cold ones. Same with rice. Ooo and potato salad. Coleslaw. All things you just need to turn out and people can help themselves. Not masses of everything, but people can pick and choose. Maybe some cold meats pre sliced?

I have a few recipes for stuff if you want them.

Few more sweet things also would be ok. Not cake. But biscuit type stuff.

I don't know. I'd not expect a buffet if it was me going to a christening. Nibbles maybe, soft drinks or something but other than that, nope not really.

 

[SarahH]

I havent done the christening but I did the buffet for our engagement party (all those years ago )

We went to Costco and Makro and bought all the food.

I made sandwiches, salads, cold meat (you can buy whole joints already cooked and pre-sliced!), quiche, mini pizzas, sausage rolls, pork pies, scotch eggs, chicken satays sticks, I chopped veggie sticks and then filled bowls with Nachos and crisps and dips, coleslaw and potato salad.

The cost was loads less than paying the per person from the hotel, I would lie if I said the exact amount, but I think it worked out at about £100(ish) - but then that is 7yrs ago!

Hope that helps

 

[Slinky Sarah]

For my dad's 60th we are going to makro and iceland and farmfoods...

Morrisons are good for the ready cooked sausage rolls and scotch eggs etc.

Best way for your sandwiches....breadcakes (buttered if you can be bothered) and just get some sandwich meats and lay them on a tray, same with cheese slices etc, saves a bit of time in the morning.

Just prepare as much as ou can the night before.

safe bets are bowls full of crisps, cocktail sausages on sticks, cheese and pineapple (or just cheese), scotch egg, pork pie, sausage rolls, sandwiches,

Personally i wouldnt do chicken...im alwas wary of chicken at buffets as it can go funny so quickly.


Oh and breadsticks with dips lol

 

[Suzie and Faith]

Sherlock you've gone and made me hungry!

Is there anyway you could go to a restaurant or something? Or a cafe? Or somewhere where people buy their own food? It sounds cheeky to say but i wasn't planning on feeding any of our christening guests (when it eventually happens!). I was just thinking the people we are closest too could all come out for a meal or something...

 

[maria1976]

Hey darling, i did a HUGE buffet for our wedding party for £100 for 100 people and got everything from iceland, do it the day before and early in the morning and you will be sorted.

 

[*Star*]

we had amelias christening today.
we had 40 guests and food (not including alcohol) came to just over £50. (including a £7 cake)
i did sandwiches, sausage rolls, crisps, bit of salad. cocktail sausages. trifle. biscuits. pasta coleslaw pot salad.

 

[valentine]

Its definitely possible for you and OH to do it - it just takes lots of organising.

For DD's 1st birthday, we had a garden party (lovely hot day) and did a buffet for about 40+ people but had loads left over, so it could easily have fed 50+.

We did:-

sandwiches - tuna, ham, cream chesse and pepper, egg mayo, cheese (one platter veggie, one platter non veggie)
pasta salad
bean salad
tomato, mozzarella and basil salad
potato salad
green salad
cous cous
cheese/pineapple, pickled onions on sticks
homemade cold mini pizzas
cheese board, crackers and grapes
houmous and guacamole with carrot/pepper/celery/breadsticks to dip
cold cocktail sausages
crisps
cold meat platter
pate
crusty rolls
fruit kebabs
bowls of marshmallows

If your Mum is being difficult about helping could you ask her to take Aidan for you (away from the house or where you are preparing the food) for a few hours in the morning so you can crack on in the kitchen and get everything done.

The other option is (and this is a bit cheeky and I understand totally if this is not something you want to do), if you have 55 guests coming, you could assume that some will give Aidan money as a gift and use some of this (not all obviously) to help pay for costs?

Valentine Xxx

 

[lfc_sarah]

Oh my i love buffet food!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[sarafet]

ohhh thanks so much such great ideas, you have all spurred me on to do it myself i just need to try find someone i know with a costco card..

theres some brilliant ideas for food here!! i'm so excited! we got his outfit today

thanks again girls

 

[sarafet]

heres a picture of aiden with his outfit on..

do you think we should put white socks on or try get wee silk shoes to go? he has a big knitted shawl to go over him as well

 

[ShineyHappyPeople]

So adoreable!! Yeah it sounds like a good idea doing it yourself, £4 per head is just too much - hotels always over charge for buffets Another thought I had was you could maybe make 2 large pots of some nice soup (vegetarian & a meat one) and serve it with crusty rolls and just a few desert things. Would be nice to have when the weather is so cold and rubbish!

Argh all this talk of food is driving me mad now!!