How many little desserts for a party?

[Drama Llama]

We are having an open house type party to celebrate my nephew’s baptism. My SILs convinced me I was OK to cook.  

We aren’t doing a seated meal, just a spread of heavy finger foods and then cake at the end.

The theme is “welcome to the world” and we have made international foods.  We have three kinds of international sweet treats: macarons, little pavlovas, and Nanaimo bars.

How many pieces do you think we plan per person?  Is there a formula?  I am bringing teenage boy athletes so I wonder if my calculations are off.  

 

[YaelAldrich]

What are the other foods and what time is the event? If it really is heavy hors d'oeuvres 1 of each person plus about 10% above that?

[Drama Llama]

We definitely have enough apps to make a whole meal

[happi duck]

9 minutes ago, YaelAldrich said:

What are the other foods and what time is the event? If it really is heavy hors d'oeuvres 1 of each person plus about 10% above that?

I agree with this.  I expect everyone will want one of each.  I'd portion them in a way that let's people finish one of each.

[kristin0713]

Are you asking about the amounts fir everything or just dessert? You have cake plus the three treats? I’d do one piece of cake plus 2-3 of each treat per person.  

[KungFuPanda]

I'm a fan of going overboard and letting my family snack on the leftovers for a week.  I'd go 4 per person, but keep a tray out of sight to be pulled out if the supply looks low.

[Drama Llama]

23 minutes ago, YaelAldrich said:

What are the other foods and what time is the event? If it really is heavy hors d'oeuvres 1 of each person plus about 10% above that?

It’s 4:30 to 6:30.  

We have 

chicken and waffle sliders

chicken nuggets and plain waffles for the kids 

fruit platter

ham and Hawaiian rolls 

mini samosas, spanokopita, and taquenos

Shrimp skewers

cheese board with crackers 

veggies with a few different dips

sushi rolls

we might have too much food.  

I am not worried about running out of savory things.

 

edited because I forgot pupusas

Edited March 13, 2022 by Baseballandhockey

[Drama Llama]

12 minutes ago, KungFuPanda said:

I'm a fan of going overboard and letting my family snack on the leftovers for a week.  I'd go 4 per person, but keep a tray out of sight to be pulled out if the supply looks low.

4 of each or 4 total? 

[Drama Llama]

23 minutes ago, kristin0713 said:

Are you asking about the amounts fir everything or just dessert? You have cake plus the three treats? I’d do one piece of cake plus 2-3 of each treat per person.  

So each person gets 6-9 treats and a slice of cake? 

[KungFuPanda]

1 minute ago, Baseballandhockey said:

4 of each or 4 total? 

4 dessert servings per person should be more than plenty.  I think you'd have leftovers, but even if you run out, it's a lot of dessert per person and it's OK not to have bottomless dessert.  I wouldn't stress if you served half that much.  It's not like anyone is HUNGRY when dessert rolls around.  It's just a treat that goes into full bellies.  I think the cake is enough and everything else is a bonus.

[kristin0713]

Just now, Baseballandhockey said:

So each person gets 6-9 treats and a slice of cake? 

Maybe that’s too much 😂 But I’m thinking of my kids who would pile their favorite onto a plate and not leave much for others. 

[Drama Llama]

Just now, kristin0713 said:

Maybe that’s too much 😂 But I’m thinking of my kids who would pile their favorite onto a plate and not leave much for others. 

Yeah my kids would eat a bunch, but maybe that gets evened out with toddlers and grandparents? 

[Danae]

I would want everyone to be able to try all of them, and since some people will take more than one of their favorite I’d make at least 1.5 of each per person. 

[katilac]

People eat more at parties, and people eat more of finger foods than any other kind. The usual rule I've heard is 3-4 small desserts per person. A slice of cake can definitely be part of that, but only if you put out the desserts when you cut the cake. Not eating adorable desserts bc you know cake is coming up calls for a lot of will power, lol. There will also be a certain amount of waste (people taking something and not liking it). 

It will be a lot, for sure. I think you could do all cake and be fine, but, if you do have other desserts, you want to have enough. You can skew heavier to the one that is easier to make and/or lasts better.