What food would be your go-to for a Christmas party 50+ people open house style

[FaithManor]

I think I want to go to Quill's party!

 

😀

[slackermom]

For a 2-3 hour holiday open house, I would probably do a dessert party, with a mix of sweet and savory desserts. Everything would be sized to fit on a small plate, with things like cakes pre-sliced. I would include some cheeses a fruit, maybe as part of a chocolate fondue table. For beverages, a hot cocoa bar and hot cider.

[PeterPan]

I went to a party like that one year where the hostess served soup and the guests brought desserts. Soup is cheap, easy to keep warm over time, and it just worked. You would have thought bowls would get spilled with people walking around, but the didn't.

 

If you want people to have a good time, you could move it after the holidays. Too many parties before. We moved our family party (about that size) to after Christmas, and it's really nice. People are more relaxed and not thinking about all they have to get done.

 

Personally, I'd just put it on a night when you are in the mood to stay up. But that's just me. I like late. :)

[Ellie]

I would not advertise that you'll have GF and vegan options, I'd just have them. I'm following a vegan diet (haven't gotten to the point where I call myself vegan yet. HA!) and would just go and see if there was anything I could have. I don't expect people to make special things for me (so I'd probably eat a small dinner beforehand). 

 

I think if you advertise it the expectation would probably be of a few dishes of each kind. If you don't advertise it then the surprise of actual eating options would be delightful!

 

I'm not sure if I'm making sense, but thought I'd add to the discussion!

 

:iagree: :iagree: :iagree:

[Ellie]

Me again, the party incompetent, asking the board extroverts how to do a party. I am not opposed to ordering some staple food (i.e., deli platter or a bunch of fried chicken or a big ham) but I can't afford to fully cater the event. I'm also a little stumped because of open house style; I don't want food that should be hot growing ever-colder such that late comers have nothing yummy left to select.

 

I do not want to ask people to sign up/bring a dish and I am on the fence about saying they *may* if they wish. (IOW, if I say, "I am providing all food and drinks, but if you *wish* to bring a dish to share, you may," probably a lot of this group of people will feel they must do so, which is not what I want.) I want people to come enjoy themselves and not have this be ONE MORE DANG THING they have to do before Christmas, kwim? Another aspect of this issue is that some people are vegan or GF and I both want to provide options for them but also don't want anyone to feel they *shouldn't* bring special food for themselves if they wish.

 

One last small matter is: another mom who did this party before for this same group of people told me some people extremely far overstayed their welcome into the midnight hours. I would like to discourage this somehow but I don't know how I would have night owls realize that they are hours beyond the end of the party as stated on the invitation and -ahem! - let's get a move on because, did you notice my family has all gone to bed and I am wearing my fuzzy pants and slippers? 😠Is there any way to politely suggest that the festivities have ended and here's your coat! So glad you enjoyed the evening SO much you didn't want it to end!

 

Ha. I wasn't born with the gene of festivities, but man, I try.

 

I don't think people would expect an "open house" that begins at 7 to be dinner, so I think you'll be safe to have finger foods and desserts. I think having specific hours would be wise. If you do 7-10, around 9 you could start serving coffee and comment about how you want people to feel all bright-eyed and bushy-tailed as they drive home. :-) Also, make sure you turn up the lights and turn off the music 15 minutes or so before you expect people to be outta there.

 

ITA about not advertising vegan and GF. In fact, your invitation should be brief, just bullet points, something along the lines of "Christmas Open House, Friday, December 3, 2017, 7-9 p.m."

 

I don't think any food will be out long enough for you to have to worry about food safety.

 

You could put savory food out first, and then desserts later.

 

If people are wandering in and out, you'll want to serve foods that are easily handled, e.g., no soups or chili.

[HS Mom in NC]

Do it SW style and have a bunch of crockpots full of different kinds of chili set on warm. Let guests vote for a favorite. (I was an adult before I realized the rest of the world doesn't have Mexican food for Christmas. No chili cook off for Jesus' B-day on the east coast!?! Weird!) Have some cornbread muffins-it's good hot or at room temperature. Chili and cornbread muffins freeze and reheat well in case you make too much.

Hearty soups in crockpots work too.  Have some crusty breads and green salad.  We do that at church sometimes.

[Guest]

I don't think people would expect an "open house" that begins at 7 to be dinner, so I think you'll be safe to have finger foods and desserts. I think having specific hours would be wise. If you do 7-10, around 9 you could start serving coffee and comment about how you want people to feel all bright-eyed and bushy-tailed as they drive home. :-) Also, make sure you turn up the lights and turn off the music 15 minutes or so before you expect people to be outta there.

 

ITA about not advertising vegan and GF. In fact, your invitation should be brief, just bullet points, something along the lines of "Christmas Open House, Friday, December 3, 2017, 7-9 p.m."

 

I don't think any food will be out long enough for you to have to worry about food safety.

 

You could put savory food out first, and then desserts later.

 

If people are wandering in and out, you'll want to serve foods that are easily handled, e.g., no soups or chili.

Well, because I am repeating a party hosted by someone else last year BUT I'm not doing things exactly the same way, I feel it is better for people to know how it differs. I will not have a fully catered dinner as she had, so I don't want people expecting a big spread and not finding that. If I don't tell people there is no obligation to bring food, they will assume they should.

 

I don't think people will naturally assume it isn't a big meal because it's 7. I have seen people be wrong about that before and I'm not even kidding when I say 48 meatballs vanished in ten minutes. If people think it's a meal and it's not, they wolf down anything savory even if it means thye have to keep going and getting more on their mini plates. In my experience, nothing kills the fun of an event like not enough/poorly chosen/poor-tasting food.

[Guest]

I went to a party like that one year where the hostess served soup and the guests brought desserts. Soup is cheap, easy to keep warm over time, and it just worked. You would have thought bowls would get spilled with people walking around, but the didn't.

 

If you want people to have a good time, you could move it after the holidays. Too many parties before. We moved our family party (about that size) to after Christmas, and it's really nice. People are more relaxed and not thinking about all they have to get done.

 

Personally, I'd just put it on a night when you are in the mood to stay up. But that's just me. I like late. :)

As far as people overstaying late: I don't want anyone here to get the impression that I would be fraught with anxiety if people do hang around late. If it happens, I mean, I won't die; I do want some hints about how to help curb that behavior - and there have been great suggestions here - but I'm flexible enough that if it happens anyway, I will just go with it. It's just one night and I'm not a CIA agent or a midwife, so one late night won't be the end of the world.

 

It definitely must be before Christmas with Christmas as the point. :) In some ways, it is good if some people will be curbed from coming because it's close to Christmas, because when I say 50+ guests, there could be quite a few more than that otherwise. :)

[marbel]

I was curious so I went to Evite and looked at some of my past invitations.  Last year I had a thing on the Saturday of Thanksgiving weekend that I called "drinks and dessert."  It was set for 7:30 pm, no ending time.  In the comments I just said if people were around that weekend, to stop by.  That's it!  IIRC it was a fun party.  Looks like 17 couples said yes.  Whether or not they all showed up, I don't know.

 

After thinking more, I believe you are right that people may not think dinner's out of the question at 7pm.  So you will have to make it obvious with your wording.  

 

I also have seen people ravage a serving table like a bunch of locusts.  To  me, unless an invitation says "dinner" I don't assume it's actually a meal.  

 

ETA: upthread someone suggested setting the ending time at 10 but starting to shut things down at 9.  As a guest I would be very confused to be invited to stay till a certain time but getting signals to get out an hour earlier.   15 minutes is plenty. 

 

 

Edited October 20, 2017 by marbel