sounds amazing. I think you are right on target and instead of wine, mix it up by serving margaritas. Easy to make a batch of frozen margaritas. Good luck, remember that if you are relaxed and having fun, your guests will too. Don't forget the tortilla chips and salsa too!

Dumb question - how do you make margaritas? Can I prep them in advance?

I think your plan sounds perfect! I don't see why nice dinner ware wouldn't work - who would want to clean all those dishes??

Here's a recipe for margaritas by the gallon I found via pinterest - has good reviews and you can make ahead!

Here is a link that might be useful: gallon margaritas

Costco has some really nice plastic ware. I used it for our graduation party last weekend.

For the drinks I think you would be better off with a large cooler of good beer. Margaritas are good but you might end up spending more time than you want to at the blender unless you want to recruit someone to be the drink aster. And nice wine doesn't have to be expensive. Many local wine merchants will give a good discount for a case.

If you do margaritas, though, use equal parts of tequila and lime juice (well, maybe more lime juice!) and half as much triple sec. Add a squirt of agave. Add ice cubes and blend. To save money, I think people use frozen limeade and skip the agave. Experiment before the party. Don't wait until that day if you are going to attempt to do the margaritas.

Another suggestion for you: Sangria (even a white sangria) Almost any wine will taste much better in a Sangria, and it is easy drink to make for a crowd.

Besides your other items, you can pair it with a charcuterie plate of Jamon Serrano and Spanish cheese like Machego and Iberico, and be sure to have olives, olive oil, and baguette (slices) or water crackers on the side -- if you have a Costco neaby, they have pre-cut packages of these cheeses -- Trader Joe's also has some great pre-packaged Italian and Spanish presliced meats.

I love Pimm's! It's a refreshing change from the typical summertime cocktails.

Oh, I got this! I bring it to a conference and assemble on site, it will work perfect here!

White Lightening Sangria (make ahead size)

1 double bottle (1.5 L) cheap white table wine (Chablis, etc)
1 cup vodka
1/2 cup brandy
1 cup sugar
1 cup orange juice
4 cups club soda or seltzer (1 L bottle)
Asst. fruit (pear, grapes, lime, orange, peach, etc)
Ice

Prep ahead:
In a 1 L water bottle assemble vodka, brandy, sugar, OJ, cut fruit. Can do this up to 2 days ahead and refrigerate (maybe more, but that's as far as I've tried). Put wine and seltzer in fridge to get cold.

Day of party, to assemble:
In a 1 gallon container, simply pour in your bottle of wine, water bottle of alcohol/fruit, and bottle of seltzer. Add ice to taste, or frozen grapes if you don't want it to dilute.

This is light and somehow you don't get a strong alcohol taste. Goes down very easy. Prep for 2-3 batches depending on your group and you should be fine. You could also offer Coronas as they go with the theme, but I don't see a need for anything further alcohol-wise.

Don't stress. Be who you are...a very busy mother and not willing to pull off an expected social gathering with 'bling'. Rt 17 or the GardenStateParkway? The new Fairway is fab and straight to the olive, cheeses, artichoke heart delights, marinated mushrooms, smoked salmon?...a few good boxes of crackers...no need to serve a meal or grill or cook. Who has time being so busy with life daily drama. Establish yourselves as cocktail tid-bits. Not a meal. Do what is comfortable for you. Arrange it and let it be...it serves itself. One easy prep is a variety of fresh veggies that just need some slicing and a dip, (some nice avocado dressing). Pre-made party platters are often a 'nose-up' and not so special.
Or make it really awful so you will never be asked again to host, ; ) (kidding)

I did do one thing recently that was a hit. (i'm comfortable with a hundred party guests)
Meatball sliders that i prepped the day before. Assembled the morning of...4 trays just waiting and chilled and popped in the oven for 1/2 hour, then the next tray. Unexpected and super for the drinkers that need something meat and substance. Made the meat balls day before, bought the tiny rolls at my local bakery. It was legendary and only one item i made myself. The rest was easy tid-bits.

If you do a fruit tray, an easy dip is 1 container raspberry yogurt mixed with one tub Cool Whip.

If you want to offer another chili option, we made this 2 weeks ago at the height of our remodel so you know it's easy!

We made it just as written, but with 2 cans of beans and a little more of the spices. It came out perfect and was delicious. We ate it over rolls, like an open face sloppy joe.

As with most chili, it was fantastic for leftovers. You could easily make it the day before and let it cook as you prepare other stuff, then reheat the next day.

From allrecipes.com

Original recipe makes 8 servingsChange Servings
1 1/2 pounds pork tenderloin, cut into 2 inch strips
1 small onion, coarsely chopped
1 small red bell pepper, coarsely chopped
3 (15 ounce) cans black beans
1 (16 ounce) jar salsa
1/2 cup chicken broth
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon ground cumin
2 teaspoons chili powder
Check All Add to Shopping List
Directions

Combine pork tenderloin, onion, red pepper, black beans, salsa, chicken broth, oregano, cumin, and chili powder in a slow cooker. Set to Low and cook for 8 to 10 hours.
Break up pieces of cooked pork to thicken the chili before serving.

I have my MIL's Sams Club card - maybe I'll head over there and see what they have in terms of plastic dinner ware.

I do have some nice cake stands and a 2 tier serving plate so maybe I'll do some cream cheese and cucumber finger sandwiches as well. They are more for a tea than an evening thing, but they look nice and they are easy to make and easy to eat.

I also need to get some fresh flowers as ours will be just about ready to die by Friday. We may also be short on seating, but I guess we can bring through dining room chairs and other easily moveable chairs from other places. We have seating for 8 comfortably in the great room now and I think some people like to stand, so if we move in the 8 dining room chairs and the 4 breakfast area chairs we should be ok for the meeting.

Margaritas are off the list. Just sounds too complicated. I like the idea of Sangria, and I still like the idea of Pimms done the English way with fruit, mint and cucumber. It's just a little different but I think most people like it.
We'll probably put out a few bottles of wine and some beer and just call it a day with the drinks.

I like your menu. You don't seem to have the time to do any prep, so don't!
The only thing I would add is a big green salad. Buy it in a bag. Make a four seasons dressing for it.
Do beer and wine. I am surprised that his type of meeting is not a group effort. Will people not be bringing a contribution?
The only thing I see missing is dessert. Cookie tray from Costco? I agree with the plastic dishes from Costco. They now also have clear plastic ones, so you have two choices there.
Everyone knows you have a baby and the idea is to get together and enjoy each others company. You know everyone, and have socialized with them, so no need to panic.
From what you said in your post, there are some who have done much less than what you are planning.

Order catering from Fresh Direct or Fairway. Very reasonably priced, really tasty, and low stress. Or do you have a local butcher that can do a pan of pulled pork, so you can do pulled pork sliders. Super easy and delicious.

Don't do anything that requires it to be kept cold. No cuc with sour cream sandwiches. You will have to worry about keeping them cold and fresh. What would you do with the left overs? KISS. f your neighbors are also friends they know you are busy and I hope this is just to get together to enjoy each other's company so you need to enjoy yourself too! Sangria, chili set up which men always love and which you can do in a crockpot and see if anyone wants to bring something. Ask neighbors to bring their folding chairs. We have a ge together yearly for the neighbors and often have 40 people come. We ask neighbors to bring their folding chairs and if they have the folding tables, great. Someone always has a dessert they want to show off. Someone always has a specialty that they are really proud of. The neighbors always want to bring stuff. If someone offers, let them. It is your party but these people are your friends. Enjoy yourself.

I agree with the Sangria - you can have a relatively inexpensive wine (shhh, I've even used the wine in a box for it!) and make it really yummy. If possible, I'd try to do a red version and a white version. Make in advance and you're good to go - no mixing of drinks or fuss. Have some beer too. Those options will cover most people. And obviously, you'll want to pick up some soda too for any non-drinkers.

What you mentioned for food sounds great. You're fine getting "good" disposable plates and so on.

Use that Sam's Club membership that your MIL has - you can get flowers there - last I checked, they'll even do an arrangement for you. You can get the veggie tray from there too, although I try to spruce those up a bit - definitely use your own serving dishes for it and try to add at least one additional veggie that isn't usually on those (mushrooms, multi colored sliced peppers, etc.)

You'll probably want a dessert of some type - Whole Foods does individual fruit tarts and our one mega-grocery store here has those as well. If not, I'd probably just go for some cookies from a nice bakery.

When people start arriving, be sure to relax and enjoy. Don't worry, you've got this! :)

Make-ahead dinner dish (if your neighborhood expects) - Check!

Veggie munchies for dieters - Check!

Green salad - ? If none, ramp up the veggie tray. If bag-of-salad-plus whatever, toss very lightly with Wishbone Italian--people won't recognize, light, delicious. (Note, homemade dressings are super easy and in a whole different taste category, very easy way to impress, another time maybe. :)

Make-ahead fat indulgences for others - Check! (The layered dip could be even easier--2 quick dips served separately--no fussy layering, and less "messy" over-handled look over time.) Chips include corn to go with the chili.

Drinks: For budget and summer recommend:
Big bowl of a light alcoholic fruit punch,
Beer,
Soft drinks in cans,
Bottled water.
I personally loathe really sweet drinks, and decent wine for a crowd's worth of sangria would be expensive, plus it IS summer, so I suggest an easy ingredient, easy-to-make, vodka/fruit juice-type punch, with no pricey extra ingredients. There are lots of little variations of this one:

1 quart of cranberry juice cocktail, chilled
1 6-oz can frozen lemonade
2 cups vodka + (sounds like can go generous with this crowd)
1-1/2 quarts 7-Up, chilled

Mix juices in punch bowl ahead of time and refrigerate. Add vodka and ice just before taking out, garnish with lemon slices if you wish, set out with ladle and plastic glasses.

Cookie tray.

No one brings anything to these meetings apart from maybe a bottle of wine (which would be wonderful as we can just serve those too).

We usually have a guest speaker. The one scheduled for Friday is on septic system maintenance (lovely subject right!!) so it's not just a hanging out thing, but also a discussion thing.

My other concern is that I know people are going to be hoping for a tour of the house. The previous owners toured everyone at a meeting years ago and caused a great neighborhood sensation by showing off their bedroom complete with mirrored ceiling! ; ) I am sure people are dying to know if it is still there (it isn't). The problem is that the baby will be sleeping upstairs and I'd rather not have people wandering around making noise up there.

Is it rude to put a sign on the stair baby gate saying 'baby sleeping, please keep out' ?

I would be comfortable putting up a sign (although my daughter could sleep through anything, I used to vacuum her room during her naps!)

Lots of the pre-made, frozen snacky things and desserts are really acceptable. I would look for trays of frozen spinach puffs, that sort of thing that can go into the oven for 15 minutes and done. Also there are individual frozen mini-eclairs, cake bites, etc at reasonable cost for a dessert. Or cookies, look for something a little different, maybe imported, like the crème filled water straws (they come in tins and are not expensive but quite good) I am sure they have all these things at Sams Club. Gordons Food Service(GFS) also has large party-sized trays of lots of options if you have them in your area. Probably has chili and cheese trays.

Regarding the sign: your house, you set the rules and the limits.
Regarding the party: have fun, I love doing stuff like that!

No, it's not rude to keep people away from the baby. Anybody who's ever had a baby will understand.

Your spread sounds delicious. Just make sure that you have enough chili.
Only question: Are there vegetarians?
If you're in a rush, I'd skip the cucumber sandwiches, although they sound good. Have a look at SAM's what they have in terms of appetizers or dips. There's usually something interesting.

Some non-alcoholic drinks (water, maybe juice, canned soft drinks -- -although nobody who comes to my house ever drinks them)

just beer and a few bottles of wine; I wouldn't serve hard liquor

I'd also have just plain salsa with the corn chips

the veggie platter

fruit platter

if you want to, you can get little brownie bites (Costco has them, so SAM's may, too). They go well with the fruit.

If you have Wegman's, why not let Danny do the food prep? Wegs has catering options you can see online. When my friend had a small wedding at home last year, she got trays of wraps, sushi, fruit, hummus, veg, cheese... It was so easy! Not as nice as your chili plan, but no work at all, except picking it up.

I love Pimm's, too. It's fun, and most people have never had it.

If you are going to Sams club we always get the Lawlers Mini Cheesecakes bites 63 in a box in the frozen dessert area, always a big hit! They look nice arranged on a tiered tray. Sams always has good veggie trays and fruit trays and we buy extra strawberries. Easy peasy! Add your chili and some chips and you are good to go...

I've never hosted a big gathering like this, so I can't really be of much help with menu or drink suggestions. Just a thought, could you hire a babysitter to help watch your child Friday during part the day even though you'll be home? I find getting my house ready for guests, let alone preparing food, to be stressful and I imagine trying to care for a little one would push me over the edge.

One additional menu suggestion: buy some plain old salsa as well to go with the chips. Salsa is so easy and usually well liked.

Here is a super easy dip that everyone loves:

Get a large 'log' of goat cheese (or two.) Crumble it into a baking dish (might want to spray with Pam first.) Pour your favorite marinara sauce over the crumbled cheese (but don't completely cover the cheese.) If you have it, sprinkle on some crushed red pepper flakes, but not necessary.

Bake until bubbly at whatever temp your other stuff is at (or 350 for about 10-15 minutes.) Serve with pita chips, small slices of firm bread, or crackers.

If you have a Trader Joe's near you, they have very good wine at good prices. Their wine people can help steer you to good choices, and they never point me to the most expensive bottles.

Here's a dip my family LOVES and always insists on..easy as pie and makes a lot:

1 or 2 large cans Hormel chile, no beans
Sour cream--cup or two depending
Shredded Mexican cheese--large bag

No set amounts...just mix in as much as you think looks good/right. Mix all together, heat in microwave. Serve with tortilla chips.

Sangria sounds great and easy for what you're doing...OR just put bottles of wine and beer in a tub of ice.

Poke around Sam's Club for other appetizers..frozen or otherwise which will be the easiest to serve. Don't panic...everyone will have a great time and no one is going to criticize what you serve.

Margaritas can be a messy big project. I would just get a couple of good microbrewery beers in ice. Will be a change from wine. Also some nice chilled white wine. Just use a big ice tub to keep it cool and accessible. Costco if you have one closeby is a good source for interesting tortilla chips and dips. Just decide you are not cooking and have fun :)

we host large parties like this frequently. I love the idea of make ahead sangrias. If you have a Costco or if Sam's have similar things; the Turkey Pinwheel roll-ups are always a huge hit. People love something they can grab and walk with without balancing it on a little plate. Those hard plastic dinner ware and silverware are a must. Cookie tray and also a tray of mini pastry or eclairs. Skip anything that you have to heat up outside of a crockpot where you can keep it plugged in. costco also sells brushetta, fish dips, layered dips, spinach dips, and the like. They also have small croissant type sandwiches. For one party where I wanted hot food for 85, we bought a bunch of Costco cooked chickens and just cut them into pieces...but that was for a hot dinner kind of party. You can definitely do this without much work on your part. Enjoy! You'll have fun pulling this off!

Thanks for all the responses! Sorry it's taken a while to respond - had my hands full with the little lady who took her first unassisted steps today! : )

I have a cleaner coming to help me clean the house on Friday. If she doesnt turn up I will have an issue,but otherise I should be all good.

I'm goin to try and do some of the shopping tomorrow. I'd rather do it on Thursday so everything is completely fresh, but I don't think I can do it on top of visiting my friend - it would just be too much for the baby.

I'm going to hit up Sam's Club for sure (the cheesecakes sound wonderful), and I'll go to Wegmans and may take the Trader Joes wine advice as well. So with luck I'll have most of the stuff I need tomorrow, and if I forget anything I can grab it have DH grab it over the next couple of days.

More and more people are rsvp'ing now - I hope they don't all wait unti Thursday night and then rsvp or we'll be in trouble!

The chicken chilli is super easy and low maintenance to make. It'll take me minutes and DH can help me pull apart the chicken when he gets home from work so it really won't take more than 10 minutes total for that and everything else is cold so I can just put it out at 6.30 when the baby goes to bed. It will be rushed, but hopefully do'able and if I'm still doing the last bits when the first people arrive then so be it!

I'll let you guy know how it goes! Thanks again so much for the reassurance and suggestions.

Sounds like you have everything well in hand and got a lot of helpful suggestions. Mostly, I wanted to say congratulations on first steps--that opens up a whole new world of exploration and learning, doesn't it. Have fun!

I live in Doylestown Township and oftentimes use Ben & Irv's in Huntingdon Valley. I get the deli platters that come with rolls, potato salad, etc, and also get their great chicken chop salad. But the best is that they deliver - saves me a lot of time and last-minute stress.

Oh, sorry to hijack, hoboken, but Kelly's reference to Ben & Irv's just made me so homesick! I haven't been in years (grew up down the road), but my friends that still live in H.V. say that B&I knows good eats.

Kellysar - you are down the road from us. Love Doylestown!

I spent the afternoon shopping! I have most stuff except for the fruit.
I got brownies bites, cinnamon roll bites and red velvet cupcake bites at Sam's Club, but they spent a while in the car so I hope they aren't ruined!!

Of course I got home to find another 6 people RSVP'ed. So now it's more like 25 - 30 people. I don't think most people expect dinner so I'm still not too worried about running out. The chilli is more for those who get home from work late and don't have time to eat before they come out.

Also the Princeton Wegmans sucks. Warrington is so much better. Apparently they get their deliveries tomorrow, so they were out of cheese dip (and various other things) so I made my own. Ha. Not sure how that will come out!

I also bought some cut hydrangeas from Trader Joes. The guy says that if they wilt he puts them in boiling water and those are the only flowers he ever does that with. Have you heard of such a thing and does it work? I wanted to wait to buy them but what if I don't have time? Now at least we have some even if they are a bit droopy. : )

I haven't tried it, but I have heard the boiling water thing works.

I vote for the Sangria, too! People love it. I've never served it that I didn't run out. Easy, peasy. Make it Thursday night so the fruit has a nice, long soak, too.

Have fun!

Make sure you recycle all of that plasticware and plastic plates and such. That stuff should not go to a landfill. Ktks.

Zowie - 30-35 peeps. Have fun and keep them away from the little one - I hope you got some pictures of those first steps!!!
Have fun this weekend - your chicken chile will be great!

I did better than pictures! I was actually trying to take pictures of her for Father's Day and she was refusing to cooperate. Then she started to take steps so I changed from photos to video and caught the whole thing! : )
THEN I got the best picture ever of my husband's face when he walked in and saw her walking for the first time. It's a classic.

The layered dip is done and in the fridge. Cheese dip is done and already put in bowls for tomorrow. Chicken is defrosting and crock pot is already out along with the rest of the chili ingredients.

I have all my serving plates and bowls at the ready so I can just throw stuff onto them once we're done with cleaning.

Here's a late but rousing vote for the sangria. I had a graduation party two weeks ago and along with a couple of cases of beer, water, lemonade and iced tea my normally light drinking family and friends went through almost 3 gallons of white wine sangria! Mine is 3 simple ingredients and lots of fruit. What a great summery drink. Enjoy the party!

It went really well! We had a ton of food and the chicken chili, cheese dip and Pimms were huge hits. Especially the Pimms. By the end everyone was trying it.

Getting ready was tough as the first guest arrived literally 15 minutes after I put the baby to bed and DH got stuck at work and was late home, but I got it done (just!) and everyone seemed to love it.

Thanks so much for the tips and reassurance.

Hi Hoboken, I was hoping you would update. I knew you would do great! Take a deep breath and relax now that it is over.

How does one make a Pimm's? (or, more to the point, how does Hobokenkitchen make it?) I searched Bing and came up with quite a few alternatives. I gather that it is a gin based drink with cucumber?

Pimms is gin based which is weird because I loath gin, but love Pimms! You buy a bottle of Pimms and mix it 1 part Pimms to 3 parts fizzy lemonade (I used Sprite Zero) or ginger ale.

Chop up a cucumber into smallish chunks - I slice (not too thin) and then quarter them. Then slice up a bunch of strawberries and slice an orange or two. Put it into the Pimms - throw in a few sprigs of fresh mint and some ice and it's done! Takes 5 minutes and can be done directly before serving.

It's light, refreshing, looks really pretty with all the fruit slices and the fruit tastes great infused with the Pimms.

I highly recommend it as a fun, quicker (and very British) Sangria alternative.

Thanks for sharing your Pimms recipe. Do you use a regular cucumber or an English cucumber which is a milder flavor? I had my first Pimms cup while wandering around the Chelsea Flower Show in London many many years ago. When I came home I had to really hunt around to find it locally, now most liquor stores carry it. I don't like gin either, but love Pimms. Hmmm.....I think I'll go hunt down my bottle.......

So glad to hear that everything went well on Friday for you.

Thanks for the Pimms recipe. I've never had it, but it sounds like a perfect summer drink!

I should have clarified that I use English cucumber - mainly because of the thinner skin and it's what would be used at home (England).

Go hunt down the bottle! : )

The Chelsea Flower Show is an absolute classic place for Pimms. We served it at our wedding too.

Glad it went well. Friday night things are hard esp with kids and dh's getting stuck at work...been there!
Hope it was fun having everyone enjoying your beautiful new kitchen! I bet all the neighbors were jealous!

Thanks for the recipe -- I think that I will definitely try a Pimm's this summer!

(and to all the other recipe posters too, thanks! I have to make things for work potlucks, and I am not an enthusiastic cook)

Another thanks chiming in for the recipes -- and a vote for Trader Joe's wine, especially for sangria! I use Two Buck Chuck as a sangria base, and it's always wildly popular (though nowadays I guess it's Three Buck Chuck). However, as I live down the road from you Doylestown folks (in Abington), I can't get it locally. I have to schlep over to NJ or inveigle my friends to bring some down to me when they visit from MA.

I also forgot to mention that we got all our wines from Trader Joes in Princeton. Most expensive bottle $5.99. They all went and people seemed very happy. I am a convert. We need to go and buy a bunch for future parties!