christmas dinner for 70 people,advice please

shelovestobuystuff

I have the very bad habit of saying yes to things then wondering how the heck I,m going to pull it off.:)
After a very successful charity night I organised I was asked if I would also organise a christmas party for the charity volunteers I work with.I said yes,like I do.So I am planning a christmas party for 70 volunteers and they want a proper christmas dinner!
My budget is only £8 a head or less if possible to allow me money leftover to buy decorations and christmas crackers etc.
I have the venue and the dj now all I have to do is plan the food.I can,t find a caterer I can afford,any who might have been cheap enough are already fully booked for December.So I,ll have to self-cater it,yikes!Any tips?(apart from run and keep running as fast as you can,lol)

candie_gill

ooooooooh that is ambitious, and i thought i was pushing it at ten people haha.

starfishpie

I can't help with food i'm afraid but if you're not too worried about decorations that match have you tried the local freegle groups? mine always has people giving away baubles and trees etc? and also, not sure if this would be a possibility but could you enlist a local primary school to help make paper chains or Christmassy pictures? Good luck and what a lovely thing to be doing for others

Leory

Cant add much, but good luck, and that it is a nice gesture on Christmas Day:beer:

no.1swimmum

I use to cook Christmas dinners at our church centre - it can be done with preparation.
Must it be Turkey - we would buy chicken breast, and cooked in advance, slice and then parcel up in foil with a small amount of the cold liquid that it was cooked in should be more like jelly when cold. These are easier to unparcel and plate up if you have helpers. If it must be turkey see if you can get to a catering warehouse like makro - they often have good deals.

Potatoes - either frozen / or fresh but take into account the time for peeling, cutting, par boiling and roasting.

Vegetables - never did brussels as they weren't popular (although I love them) julienne carrots and 1 other.

Frozen stuffing balls or again make the day before, ball up and store in fridge until cooking.

Gravy instant made in large jugs


Christmas pudds can be a hassle to buy lots of smaller ones again warehouses sell long ones that are easier to slice, I use to serve a slice with mince pie and put a jug of custard and a jug of cream on the table.

Serving is easier with plenty of help and a production line with one or two jobs per person, with wait staff at the end and take them out straight away so as not to get cold.

Finsih with tea / coffee and a mint.

Hope this helps

amersall

Oh bless you!! dont envy you that task at all.
Preperation is the key to this, as no.1swimmum has said.
Good luck with this.

stimpy27

Would your local scout/guide group help you wait/wash up etc.

Good luck

LV_Sue

A few years ago our village used to put on an annual fundraising show which we called 'Talk of the Village'. There was a variety show starring local people and a 3 course meal with cheese & biscuits and coffee/tea & mints afterwards. The meal for 100 people was served during the interval. It was very very hectic as you can imagine.

We rustled up as many 'Hostess' trolleys as we could and took them to the venue, but not many people have them nowadays. One year we hired catering size hot trolleys, but it worked out quite expensive. You need to delegate............and then delegate some more The venue we used had a slightly larger than domestic size fridge (but no freezer) and a 4 burner domestic hob & oven so cooking on site for so many was not really an option. We had an Organiser (with a capital O!) who gave each volunteer a job to do. Some people cooked potatoes, others cooked meat, others veg and others were given puddings to do. Making 80 prawn cocktails and 40 slices of melon was down to me and a neighbour :eek: As we all lived fairly locally to the venue we each cooked our delegated dish and then transported them to the venue where they were kept warm in the hostess trolleys and the oven. Any puddings that didn't fit in the fridge were kept in cool boxes & bags. I almost forgot that 4 people also brought their microwaves to the venue kitchen for the evening and we used them to heat up the veg as they cooled quite quickly. The Bisto gravy was made in large jugs using the tea urn for hot water! Our puddings were all cold such as trifle or fresh fruit salad, but I'm sure you could heat mince pies whilst the dinner was being eaten - always providing your venue has an oven

It was very hard work, but enjoyable, and we must have been gluttons for punishment as some of us came back year after year:rotfl:
Oh, and nobody got food poisoning either :D

Good luck, and don't forget the most important thing..............DELEGATE :rotfl:

Anglea

I know some people that do the cooking for a weekly lunch club.

I see them every Tuesday so if you have any specific questions let me know.

shegha

Do you have a local catering college? I am sure the students would love to help.
Our are very helpful