at my witts end need help

[gator75]

ok here's the long and the short of it. we weren't planning on having an anniversery party for my parents ,ok so now older sister has decided that we should have one i reluctantly agreed as she told me that it would be kept simple,well let me tell you every time i talk to her it seem to get bigger. we went from cake and coffee to almost a full blown meal at my house my parents found out about it and are excited. here's the thing we are celebrating their anniversery TWO WEEKS LATER IN DISNEY so i would like to know this. how do i keep the menu simple please give me some ideas for food punch recipes and other things 50th anniversery related i do have two other siblings ,but they are of no help as they live in other states ,and money will be an issue due to the fact they will be in disney with us , so please help a fellow diser to keep her mind intact and give me some suggestions at the same time one side note: my sister is helping with plates and all the small incidentals it seems the food a,and the like is falling on me.

 

[klacey1]

Is it ALMOST a full meal or a full meal?
Ideas: Dessert bar with homemade cookies, brownies, etc. Fancy teas, coffee, and milk
Just a cocktail party-- you can buy plenty of frozen mini's that are yummy and not so expensive (Stop and Shop or Target). Pigs in a blanket, mini-quiches, spinach/artichoke dip with tortillas, beef stuffed puff pastries, etc.
A cheap full dinner is a pasta buffet-- rolls, big salad with two different dressings, two or three different types of pasta and a variety of sauces-- alfredo, marinara, vodka, meat sauce. Hearty and not expensive.

 

[lovesmurfs]

ok here's the long and the short of it. we weren't planning on having an anniversery party for my parents ,ok so now older sister has decided that we should have one i reluctantly agreed as she told me that it would be kept simple,well let me tell you every time i talk to her it seem to get bigger. we went from cake and coffee to almost a full blown meal at my house my parents found out about it and are excited. here's the thing we are celebrating their anniversery TWO WEEKS LATER IN DISNEY so i would like to know this. how do i keep the menu simple please give me some ideas for food punch recipes and other things 50th anniversery related i do have two other siblings ,but they are of no help as they live in other states ,and money will be an issue due to the fact they will be in disney with us , so please help a fellow diser to keep her mind intact and give me some suggestions at the same time one side note: my sister is helping with plates and all the small incidentals it seems the food a,and the like is falling on me.

Well, you need to first decide if it's a reception or a meal. That will change how you approach the food issue. If it's a meal, formal or informal? How about grilling? You can do chicken, brats, and burgers, and ask DSis to do potato, fruit, and tossed salads -- get some chips, salsa, you're done. Or if you want to have something served, you can do lasagna or some kind of pasta dish. Or barbecue pork (crock pot).

Or you can do a dessert party -- cookies, cream puffs, cake, with coffee, etc. Or a tea, which can get up there in price depending on how frou-frou you get. Sam's has some good roll-ups and mini quiche frozen.

Recipes: Punch: 1 (64 fluid ounce) bottle fruit punch, chilled, 1 (64 fluid ounce) bottle unsweetened pineapple juice, chilled, 1 (2 liter) bottle ginger ale, chilled, 1/2 gallon orange sherbet. Mix together.

Allrecipes has an awesome spinach salad that always gets reviews. http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Jamies-Cranberry-Spinach-Salad/Detail.aspx. Depending what I have on hand, I'll switch the cranberries for strawberries and the almonds for pecans.

Your attitude will make all the difference with this. Think positively about it and relax. It should be a fun celebration of your parent's love. and best wishes.

 

[tw1nsmom]

How many people? What time? Indoors or outside?