"Big" birthday celebration options

CurlySue2017

Ok so I have a "big" birthday coming up later this year......and I am not going to reveal which one!

Myself and my OH have plans already for us and I have things planned with friends, so that is taken care of.

However the usual protocol for the family is to all get together for a nice meal somwehere......which is where the slight problem comes in.

Now I am being a bit selfish about this I will be honest, but it is my birthday so naturally I would like to choose the restaurant, but some of the family [STRIKE]have special dietary requirements[/STRIKE] are very fussy eaters and this tends to cause friction when trying to choose a restaurant.

Which is exactly what is happening at the moment and is taking the nice feel out of it.....it is becoming a battle rather than a celebration

Anyway after that intro (needed for context) the reason I posted -

I am looking for any suggested alternatives to a family meal. There will be around 10 people in total and they are of mixed ages from teenagers to pensioners including a couple of less able people, so anything too active is out of the question. It will also be late in the year, so I suspect the weather will not be on our side, so anything outdoors is probably a no go........I am so stuck for ideas......any help appreciated

elsien

I think it's the fussy eaters being selfish, not you. People who genuinely have special dietary requirements tend to be more flexible, I find, and will usually find something they can have even if it wouldn't be their top choice.
It's your birthday -the fussy ones should fit round you.
(Having said that, I know it's not as easy as that makes it sound. "I only eat chips.......Indian food doesn't agree with me/I don't like the smell........I'm allergic to veg....." etc etc)

if you just want a family get together, could you hire a room somewhere nice and get someone to cater to meet the various requirements? Or would that make it too expensive?

es5595

I'd sod the lot of them, chose where you want to go, and send a formal invite out inviting them to XX at time and date. If they want to come, they will and they'll choose options they can get on with. If they don't they won't, but you're done with the stress.

CurlySue2017

elsien wrote: »

I think it's the fussy eaters being selfish, not you. People who genuinely have special dietary requirements tend to be more flexible, I find, and will usually find something they can have even if it wouldn't be their top choice.
It's your birthday -the fussy ones should fit round you.
(Having said that, I know it's not as easy as that makes it sound. "I only eat chips.......Indian food doesn't agree with me/I don't like the smell........I'm allergic to veg....." etc etc)

if you just want a family get together, could you hire a room somewhere nice and get someone to cater to meet the various requirements? Or would that make it too expensive?

This is exactly what I am getting at the moment!! They don't have dietary requirements at all, they just want to have their choice :mad: I did consider something along those lines, but for the number of people that would be attending, the cost was too much unfortunately.

es5595 wrote: »

I'd sod the lot of them, chose where you want to go, and send a formal invite out inviting them to XX at time and date. If they want to come, they will and they'll choose options they can get on with. If they don't they won't, but you're done with the stress.

This will be the outcome if we can't agree anything!!

It is getting to the point where I am thinking why bother at all!

suejb2

When we have a bit of a family do we get take aways. We converge on one house and order what people choose. I prefer Indian but my in-laws like Italian. Children want McD. Takes a bit of logistics regards timings but we enjoy it this way.

DigForVictory

They seem to be forgetting this is Your Birthday.

Which happens, but the collective orders in (fun but argumentative & hell to budget for), or the flat - "we're all going to the Chinese, join us or not as your sensitive innards allow" strike me as being less stressful for you (although in the long term it'll likely balance out - but Keynes was right - in the long term we're all dead.) I'd also ask/look around & pick a busy restaurant where the Chinese folk eat - a sort of quality control check...

Happy significant birthday!

susancs

I agree with others who have said about a private dinning room in a place like a pub for example. They usually do a range of different foods so suits all.