Hi economically savvy moms!!! My son and his friend are sharing their 3rd b-day party. We are doing it this way to cut costs and because they were born 5 days apart. No common friends... just 2 parties, one bill! :) Anyway - we are pondering different food ideas. We live in Orange and are having the party at a park in Tustin. We've decided that we would take care of the nachos, salad and fruit for sure but we would like a main course and to keep the dads off the grill so - what do you recommend? Mexican (rice, beans, chicken, and carne asada in tins)? Pizza? (from where?) Pat and Oscars (family meal deal)? If Mexican is the cheapest, where is it so cheap? The bill keeps going up! Any ideas about what you did or where you found great food that was affordable would be greatly appreciated! Thank you!
Thank you everyone for your input! Party is over and food was aplenty! We ended up doing pizza, nachos, fruit salad, and pasta salad. There was a ton left over but it was a good price - thank you for all your input!
We've used Valentino's for pizza, $5.99 per large, but it's pick up only. We also live in Orange and had a party at at Tustin park. For that party I pre-order lunch boxes from Ralphs. I think they were under $3 per box and included a sandwich, chips, apple, cookies a juice box and a "toy"
I vote pizza. In my 14 years of parenting pizza is always a hit at birthday parties, preferably from a familiar place, nothing fancy.
I would just do deli ham and turkey sandwiches on rolls
We had taco salad for my daughters third birthday, then it doesn't need to be hot. Of course, her birthday is in the summer. Here's the recipe:
1 lb ground beef
2 cloves garlic, chopped or pressed
1/2 medium onion diced
1 packet taco seasoning
1 head iceberg lettuce
1 1/2 C shredded cheese
2-3 diced tomatoes
1 small can olives
Wishbone Italian Salad Dressing
1 bag Fritos (they stay crunchy with the dressing)
Brown the ground beef with Garlic and onions until onions are cooked through. Drain fat. Let cool.
Tear the iceberg lettuce into small bits. (If you are REALLY patient, the kids can do this part!!) Toss cooled meat with the rest of the salad ingredients.
Serve with sliced avocado, sour cream, and salsa.
I also made cheese quesadillas with flour tortillas and cheese; grill in a frying pan, cut into 6-8 wedges each, and I kept them warm in the crock pot on low).
And I had fresh fruit (I had intended to make a fruit salad, but I ran out of steam!) Orange slices, grapes, and apple wedges.
It was plenty of food for our party which had 5 adults and 8 little ones (all age 4 or younger). We had a lot left over. We had lemonade to drink; easy to make more if we ran out.
For my son's 2nd birthday, we had it at a park and got Domino's Pizza delivered to the park. They had their 3 medium pizzas for $15 deal going on, so we got 9 pizzas for $45. It was perfect. Plus, since they delivered to the park, it was SO easy! Along with it, we served fruit and chips, plus cake. Simple!
You could also consider doing a morning party and then you don't need a main course.
K.
http://www.discoverytoyslink.com/karenchao - need birthday presents for your son? I've got great toys, games and books!
I just did my son's 1st bday party this weekend & I tried to keep costs as low as possible. The only food I had 'catered' were sandwiches from Togo's. A large tray fed almost 20 people & it was about $60. All the sandwiches come cut in 1/2 so most people only eat 1. I also had chips & I made a HUGE salad & brought it from home. Hope that helps :) And happy birthday to your son!!
We did pizzas from Costco (fresh, not frozen). My parents picked them up along the way and brought them to the park for us. Had a big fruit salad and drinks and along with cake, it was perfect.
check out Costco's sanwich/party trays!
sloppy joes maybe? and baked beans.
Carnitas from Costco - they are delicious, easy to make (in the micro) and keep warm and all the stuff that goes with them (corn tortillas, sour cream, shredded cheese, salsa) is cheap too. We have served this for large parties several times and it has always been a hit. If you are looking for cheap pizza, Valentino's (on Chapman) is the cheapest around. I think Costco's pizza tastes better though for a slightly higher price. Hope that helps and you have a great party. =0)
We have done hot dogs. You can cook them in the oven before you go (wrap some in bacon for the adults??) or the dads can get there a little early and cook them all up. Either way they can go in chaffing dishes to be kept warm and dad can hang with guests.
Hi. Well if there is really a tight budget have you thought of chicken salad sandwiches? You can make them and then use cookie cutters to cut them into cool shapes, stars, cars etc. Also theres this very simple meatball recipe that I do thats inexpensive and tastes great. You can buy meatballs already done at a grocery store and then put them in the oven as directed. You buy a jar of grape jelly and a can of chili with no beans. Put the whole jar of jelly in a pan over med heat until it melts (yes you're cooking the jelly) and then add the chili, once the meatballs are done pour the sauce mixture on top of the meatballs and mix them all together and put back in the oven for another 5-10 mins. They are delicious. Hope this helps.
