Hi Mamas! I'm have my 3 year old's bday party at the party and we plan to bbq hamburgers and hot dogs as well as order pizza and have little snacks there. Have any money saving tips or tips as far as time-saving the bbq part? Dave any of you half-cooked the patties and finished them off at the park? Does that taste the same? How about pre-boiling the hot dog weiners? Any ideas?
What I've done before is pre-cook the hot dogs and the buns, and then individually wrap them in aluminum foil and put them in a ice chest to keep them warm. Then when it came time to eat I handed each person their hot dog and they unrolled them, put their condiments on and ate. Easy!!!!
Enjoy the day!!
We had our son's birthday party at a park in June.
We did hot dogs, and I boiled them before we left the house and kept them warm, but I didn't reheat them on a grill.
I'd personally not recommend doing the hamburgers unless you have your heart set on them. We were able to purchase 7 lbs of pulled pork from a local farmer's market that we warmed in the oven until the party (how I kept the hotdogs warm). It was way too much for the 40 people we had there, and I ate it for the next week. But, it was easy, required no prep, and allowed me to stay focused on the kids/party.
I'd always recommend having food already prepared so you can tend to all the other stuff that goes on unexpectedly - especially in an uncontained place like a park.
I would recommend going for pre-made things that don't require heating - snack size sandwiches, salads, fruit, etc.
However, we learned a little trick. ice chests work to keep things hot as well as cold. If you can, set your ice chest out in the sun and let it get warm inside. Line the ice chest with newspapers and towels. Put your HOT foods - hamburgers, hot dogs, whatever - in the ice chest and close it. It will stay HOT for hours. We do this at home on a regular basis with corn on the cob and baked potatoes when we have big groups. We cook them on the grill outside and then put them in the chest to keep hot while we grill the meat. Works great. We recently did this for an event at church. I cooked 10# of baked potatoes. I had to be at the church around 4. The potatoes were smoking hot at 6 when we served them.
Good luck!
Keep it simple - less is always more!
I'd do one or the other, not all three. Pizza is easy - Costco too.
Have fun!
Yep, I agree with the others. Only have foods that you can prep ahead (pasta salads, sandwich trays, veggies, fruit salad,etc.). I know we all like to make nice meals and entertain, but I try to remember that it's way more important to be able to pay attention to my children and enjoy the joy of their birthday with them. I keep things as simple as possible and focus only on the things that the birthday child will really notice. My youngest is turning 3 this weekend and she wants ham and cheese sandwiches and bacon at her party. So, that is what we are having!
We had my daughter's birthday at the park. We had hot dogs (I recommend Nathan's or Hebrew National) To appeal to the adults we had different condiments. Pickles, pepper rings, tomatoes, onions, chilli, cheese, you get the gist. Kinda like having your own Jack's Hotdog. I personally would forget the patties unless you can designate someone to watch the grill. Add some chips and some grapes and you should be good to go. If you plan to have cake opt for cup cake.
That will be a TON of things to tote to the park.... and do, once there. And, you'd want to enjoy the party too.. and take photos of your child and his party.... and socialize. Being at a grill.... will take time... and probably a lot of leftovers....
I would, get things from Costco.
I would not do all those foods... hamburgers/hotdogs/pizza.
I would just have pizza and snacks. Less maintenance....
Kids that age... just pick and eat anyway....
And have lots of water... and/or juice!
I ditto Dana W.
I say skip the burgers and pizza and just do hot dogs.....they cook up in no time, give the men something to do and everyone usually likes them. Make it simple on yourself. Have fun!
i would not do all those foods. hot dogs are already cooked, you just heat them. and they require the fewest toppings .
costco has great trays, sandwich, fruit, veggie, and they have chips and dips.
I wouldn't pre-cook, or cook any food halfway. When we had a birthday part, at the park we staring cooking when we got there. We had one person (My brother in law) be in charge of the grill. He stayed and cooked, so the oter adults could supervise and help with the party. It worked out very well.
Oh, and just a tip! They have these plastic clip things, at party stores, that hold tablecloths on the picnic tables. (if you are using tablecloths.) They were a lifesaver for us, because it was so windy!!
