As the hostess, I’ll be providing the majority of the food for the party, but I can ask my friends to bring a few things. Typically I ask for things that add up quickly when buying myself, like drinks, booze, chips, store-bought dips, etc. That leaves me with a better budget to provide actual food items that show off why I’m the best party host ever.
So for a big sporting event party, what should we plan to provide our guests? Well, let’s break it down into categories, then go from there.
- Main dish-an actual food item. Pizza, fried chicken, chicken wings, burgers (full-size or sliders), hot dogs, tacos, etc. For parties of 8+ people, plan on doing two main dishes.
- Sides-cole slaw, potato salad, mac & cheese, etc. Usually better for a pot-luck or back yard barbecue where seating at some kind of table will be a thing. Not great for sitting on your nice couch where someone’s definitely going to spill something off of their paper plate that they’re awkwardly holding in one hand with the fork clamped against the plate in the joint of the thumb and a drink in their other hand.
- Snacks-chips, crackers, pretzels, etc. Something for guests to absent-mindedly munch on while focused on the tv. Also for the use of conveying delicious dips to the guests’ taste buds. Finger foods that won't mess up your couch too much.
- Dips-guacamole, salsa, smoked fish dip, salsa con queso, sausage dip, spinach dip, layered dip, the list is eternal. You could host a party with twenty different dips and a few bags of snacks, and just call it a night there. I wouldn’t recommend it, but you could.
- Sweets-candy in a bowl, fruit with marshmallow cream dip, dessert pizza, ice cream, whatever. Not necessary unless you have kids at your party, or if it’s someone’s birthday, in which case cake or cupcakes are obligatory. This actually will be my birthday celebration with friends, but I refuse to make my own birthday cake for this. I will for my family birthday dinner, but not for a get-together with friends. My guests and I are satisfied with a savory spread and will get our sugar kick from our drinks. Speaking of which…
- Drinks-soda, gluten-free beer, hard cider, distilled alcohol, sweet tea, lemonade, etc. Note about distilled alcohol: many are safe due to distillation removing gluten, however, some brands add a portion of undistilled mash back to the drink to add flavor, which could reintroduce gluten. Also, distilled liquor made from wheat could trigger a wheat allergy reaction regardless of distilling. Always check the company’s FAQ or inquire with the company about gluten and/or allergen content in any of their products.
So that’s the gist of it. I’m going to use a combination of making things myself and planning on several elements to be made ahead of time, getting a few hard-to-find items beforehand myself so I don’t have to worry about asking my guests to bring it, and then making specific requests of my guests for things easily obtained at Walmart or Publix. So my final menu will look a bit like this:
- Pizza-sauce can be made Friday evening, dough can be prepped day before, vegetable toppings and cheese can be sliced day before.
- Snacks-Xochitl chips (brought by guest), Snyder’s Gluten-Free Pretzels (brought by guest)
- Dips-salsa (brought by guest), Mrs. Peter’s Smoked Fish Dip (bought day before), sausage dip (prepared night of), salsa con queso (prepared night of), guacamole (prepared night of).
- Drinks-soda (brought by guest), Angry Orchard (brought by guest), at least one bottle of liquor, probably Jameson (brought by guest), sweet tea (made morning of), lemonade (made morning of).
Most of the stuff that requires no or very little preparation will be brought by guests. I’m going to ask for three containers of salsa, one for the queso, one for the sausage dip, and one for straight-up salsa. I’m still probably going broke just buying all the cheese required for pizza and dips, though. Cheese is expensive these days, and I need a lot of it for this stuff. I use block and shredded mozzarella on my pizza to get a balance of gooey and crunchy, the queso uses cheddar or Mexican blend and American sliced cheese (decent quality American, not that crap from Kraft), and the sausage dip uses like three blocks of cream cheese. Then there’s the avocado for the guac, and the fish dip is like nine bucks for one 16-oz. container, if I recall correctly. Or was it $12?
Anyway, I may cut a few things from the menu, or make more depending on attendance. Last year I made basically this whole spread expecting 5-6 guests plus me, but some people had to back out last minute and it ended up being 3 guests plus me. Everyone still had a good time, though, and I had tons of leftovers for the next week. I just wish I had known ahead of time that I wouldn’t have to buy so much food. Oh well, live and learn.
I’m actually going to record the making of my sausage dip, guacamole, and salsa con queso for my next blog post, and see if any of my guests want to appear on-camera for you guys to show you just how easy it is to make these items as you learn along with them. Leave your thoughts in a comment below, or get in touch with me directly by filling out the form on the contact page.
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