Retirement party food that's inexpensive - ideas please!

smartandshrewd

Hi,

A colleague is retiring soon and staff have been asked to provide some food for the retirement party. There will be around 70 people at this party.

I'm about to leave this employment myself (temp contract) without any idea of when my next post will come - it could be as long as 6 months - so I feel that I just don't have the money to spend, pennies are very tight. I would just not go along except that the party is straight after work and it's expected that everyone attends.

So, any ideas for how to make a contribution without looking cheap?

Any suggestions welcome!

Bongedone

If your leaving anyway I would make excuses and not go to be honest.

Is it going to be at a pub or in the office?

smartandshrewd

At the office unfortunately, straight after work.

PasturesNew

For well under £1 you could:
- Bake a chocolate cake.
- Make some flapjacks.
- Make some cheese straws.
- Bake some of Twink's hobnobs
- Make a cheese/onion flan or similar
- Bake some bread rolls that look a bit different (e.g. sun dried tomato, cheese, cheese/onion, herby)
- Bake some cheese scones

Remember - if everybody is bringing something you're not catering for 70, you are in effect just catering for as much as you could eat, plus a tad more so there's plenty to go round.

Remember too: Most of them will have dashed into Tesco/The Coop/similar and bought something, so they'll envy the fact you actually MADE something.

Chinkle

Set yourself a budget and then pop back and ask. If everyone has been asked to contribute - one dish would be fine, which I'm sure we could help you rustle up fairly cheaply.

Bogof_Babe

Morrisons value crisps are 23p for a 6-pack. Bring a bowl in from home and empty a few 6-packs into it. The bags aren't huge but for 92p you'd have 24 bags which would fill a reasonable sized bowl.

Or you could get three packets of Sainsbury's Value biscuits for £1, which could be arranged on a large plate or two.

smartandshrewd

Thanks for your replies.

Oh my, a budget, I probably will sound dead tight here but I would not want to spend over £2.

I'm liking the idea of flapjacks actually, whenever I've made them in the past they are like bricks. I'm thinking that cheese would push the cost up a lot?

sunflower76

Could you not get a last minute doctors appointment or eye exam? I know it's awful to lie but if you don't want to go then any excuse will do; it isn't like you'll be there for ages after anyway...

carriebradshaw

cupcakes are cheap & easy to make as are twinks hob nobs, you could drizzle the twinks with a bit of chocolate and probably still come in under your budget

ravylesley

I would make something like pasta salad or rice salad its cheap and cheerful and improves with keeping.If you are feeling flush then you could bung a tin of tuna in to make it look more substantial

Lesleyxx

stilernin

Tub of cheap cottage cheese plus half a teaspoon of horseradish sauce - whizz in blender/magimix. This is a really nice dip.

Put in a dish on a plate, surround with carrot sticks.

Voila! It tastes great and looks as if you have made a huge effort.