[nataliecmu]

Hi All!
I'm throwing a surprise 50th for my Mom this Saturday and I am starting to get a little stressed out

. I love to plan stuff, so I really took this on all by myself... my dad is going to be the financial backer though! I am expecting about 65 people (

)and I'm going to Costco tonight to pick up food... The party is not until 7:30 (surprise at 8:00) and I'm struggling with what kind of appetizers to buy. It's just going to be a appetizer and cocktail party. I need help! What should I buy??

 

[pico's parent]

Natalie,

Think Sweet, Savory, Hot and Cold for a successful selection. I read recently that 7-8 pieces of hors d'ouvres per person is adequate. You may want to up that a tad if you're concerned about the cocktail part of the party....us older folks don't tolerate alcohol quite as well as we used to.

A veggie tray is a no-brainer because everyone loves to crunch cold veggies with a dip of some sort.

A cold-cuts tray or a cold appetizer of some sort.

Hot appetizers like mini-flautas, quiche or the like. You don't want to be spending all your time heating up things so keep the hots to what you think you can handle.

A sweets tray like mini eclairs or cream puffs, things like that.

I think what you are doing is so sweet, a lot of work and stress, but don't get anxious over it......people will have a better time with a relaxed hostess and a bag of chips and a tub of dip than with a frazzled hostess and a sumptous gourmet feast. Too bad your SM friends can't be there to help because I'm sure you'd have lots of volunteers!

 

[Lissa]

Those were some great ideas. A sushi tray is also a great idea. I'm not sure if the Costco near you carries them, but I always call my local takeout and order a mixed tray with about $100 worth of sushi. Its plated nicely and you can place it all over the house so your guests can pick at it. Another neat thing that Costco carries is the baked Brie en croute. They have them with different items inside and are really easy to prepare -- just bake them at 400 degrees for 15 minutes. In the frozen section of Costco, you can pick up the Chinese dumplings in a variety of flavors and those can steamed or quickly stir fried in a pan or wok. Put them on a tray with a bowl of soy sauce, mixed with a tablespoon or 2 of rice wine vinegar and some chopped scallions and you can serve at room temperature.

Also, how about their different flavored hummus & baba ganoush (eggplant). Put those in bowls with pita triangles.

Finally, if your Costco is anything like the one my mom went to before my bridal shower, they sell roses very inexpensively. She bought about a dozen bunches, along with some other flowers and placed them all over her house for my shower. It looked like a ton of effort, when in actuality, it took 10 minutes to put together.

Good luck and enjoy the party!

 

[nataliecmu]

I think I'm the most nervous about her not finding out h34r: . When I stopped up to see her at work the other day one of her co-workers was trying to be funny and kept saying 'what am I doing on the 2? I know I have SOMETHING going on...' She was doing it to be funny to the people around her and I DID not find it funny

. My mom is a fast little thing...she catches on to EVERYTHING so I was just getting annoyed

. Thanks for the tips! We are italian so I am going to make a few homemade pizza's (for a little substance). Thanks again!

 

[Toby's Mom]

-_-

 

[Snertsmom]

Pizza sounds good, but you could also get some of those 6 foot long submarines and cut them into serving sizes, like we use to do at the hospital when we had a BIG carry-in.
Good luck and tell your mom that us Malt Mommy's all said "Happy Birthday"

 

[nataliecmu]

I just wanted to let everyone know that the party was such a success! We had around 60 people and just the right amount of food (meaning only a little left over). My mom was so happy and surprised! It really was perfect. I felt so sneaky h34r: but it was just so nice to have a party for her! She is so busy throwing parties it was hard to get around her, but I am so happy with how everything turned out. Thanks so much for all of your great ideas!

 

[LexiAndNikkisMom]

That's great that it worked out!

 

[saltymalty]

Dang, I'm so sorry I missed this post...I just love parties! We always have cocktail and appy parties...never dinner parties. No one ever leaves the kitchen in my house. I am glad your party was a success. Your mother is lucky to have such a nice daughter. May she have 50 more wonderful years...and then some!

 

[saltymalty]

Dang, I'm so sorry I missed this post...I just love parties! We always have cocktail and appy parties...never dinner parties. No one ever leaves the kitchen in my house. I am glad your party was a success. Your mother is lucky to have such a nice daughter. May she have 50 more wonderful years...and then some!

 

[Caesar's Mommie]

Thats great!! I am so glad it went so well and that she was surprised! Way to go!

 

[doctorcathy]

wow, 60 people?! i dont even know 60 people. i already cut off my relationships with all my old high school friends (they're losers anywy). cynthia was saying that at my wedding, i'm only going to have around 10 people on my side. lol. im thinking that i'm going to have to invite all of my spoiled maltese friends.

^_^

 

[Toby's Mom]

:lol: