How do I figure the amount of drinks, alcohol and non for a family party of 250 people?

Question

I am in charge of drinks and decorations for a Quinenera party for my god daughter. How much beer and soda and water should I purchase? There will be about 250 people which will include parents and children.

Answer 1

after going through a wedding recently, i would answer this:

the amount of drinks and alcohol you buy is strictly related to the amount of money you want to spend.

i would calculate 2 drinks per person, at least, therefore 500 drinks.

there will be some lush people, and there will be people who will not drink.

for an hour party, i would make sure to have 2 to 3 drinks per person. for 2 hours, i would say 4 to 5 drinks per person. beyond that, you may want to have a cash bar, because alcohol can get expensive.

when it comes to wine and champagne, you usually get 4 to 5 glasses out of a normal sized bottle, so 1 bottle would take care of 2 alcohol drinkers.

this is really related to the amount of money you want to spend, and how heavy the drinkers are. if money isnt that important, then buy about 200 bottles of beer, 15 to 20 bottles of alcohol (jack daniels, rum, tequila and margarita mix...) and 15 to 20 bottles of wine and also 200 cans of soda.

that would probably have you covered.

Answer 2

I recently asked this question at my local beer and wine store for a party we were giving. They told me an amount per person (2-3 drinks per) and I doubled the amount of wine knowing that we had a lot of wine drinkers. We had some pop, beer, and assorted flavored waters left but we went through all the wine. Everybody was at the party for about 4 hours and we had very little left. Usually when the drinks run dry everyone leaves. So, I would err on the side of too much than too little unless you want to control how long the party lasts. I recommend that you go to your local beer and wine store (In Chicago we have stores called Sam's Wine and Spirits and Binny's that are great for this) and ask for some help. They should be able to give you a good idea of about how much to purchase. Then, you will have to factor in what you know about the crowd. Are they more beer drinkers or are there a lot of light or non-drinkers in the crowd? Also, do you need to rent bucket and buy ice to keep all those drinks cool?

I found some drink calculators on the internet. However, they don't seem to include soda/non-alcoholic drinks.

Answer 3

At ~least~ three drinks per person. Assume the children are going to have three soft drinks (they lose their cups alot!) and adults will have two soft drinks and two alcoholic drinks per person. Adjust accordingly if your family includes heavy drinkers. Have a great time!

Answer 4

you are better off leaving the beer out of it. if thats not a possibility then figure about 3 drinks per people. unless you want them drunk. if so add more.

Answer 5

try the food network site. they have helpers for throwing bashes