What are important tips when you're hosting Christmas lunch for a crowd of 30-40 people?

Question

What are the best (but easiest) kinds of food to prepare? And I've got no help, so what can I do to make sure everybody's well-fed and happy, but I still stay sane?! It doesn't have to be a sit-down lunch, and they probably won't all come at the same time.

Answer 1

Okay, I'm assuming that if you had the $ to cater, you wouldn't be here asking us for help!
I love to entertain, so here are my thoughts:
#1 Get your house clean ahead of time. Last minute, day of, empty all your garbage cans and put something blue and smell-good in the toilet bowl.
FOOD: sandwiches are not easy when you have to do that many. Get ham and turkey, cheddar/american and swiss from the deli. Make a cold cut tray w/ that. Throw some olives and/or pickles in the center. Get a couple bags of rolls and put those in a big bowl. Put mayo and mustard in a bowl, or get the squirt bottles if you're not trying to be classy.
HERE'S THE THING: DO AS MUCH AS YOU CAN AHEAD OF TIME (1-2 DAYS AHEAD).
If you make sandwiches, the bread will go stale, esp. if sitting out on the day of- rolls will not!
A huge crockpot of meatballs-amazing recipe, your guests will never suspect: 2 bags of frozen meatballs, one jar of grape jelly, and 1.5 bottle ketchup (YES-IT'S TRUE!)-please do the math, I use that much for 10-20 people. (the melding of the flavors is like a sweet/sour bbq, but more unique)
I live in the south, and no party is complete w/out fried chicken wings! You can get them at some grocery store delis, (we have Publix and Winn-Dixie) or at the deli in Super-Walmart.
Aside from that have a bunch of dishes scattered about with: chocolate candy, starlight mints, and peanuts.
For dessert, you can do a couple trifles. Look for recipes or just get a big bowl, alternate layers of: cubed pound cake, vanilla pudding, berries, and cool whip. Beautiful and yummy!!!! (again, make the day b4)
If they're all coming at diff. times, pot-luck won't work! Stuff will get cold, hard, stale, dry, etc....

Also, I disagree about having 400 diff. beverages. Not when you are hosting that many, and by yourself. Get a few cases of soda and a case of bottled water, get it all in the fridge so it will be cold, if you have room. Honestly, you can throw it all into a cooler with ice. AND HEY, IF ANYONE HAS ANY COMPLAINTS THEN THEY SHOULD'VE VOLUNTEERED TO HELP!!!! Well, always have coffee, too!

It's all about the atmosphere. Play Christmas music, light some candles. If people are having a good time, the food is secondary.
Okay, I just thought of something else. You could also do a brunch. Just serve cutup fruit, a big egg casserole, a potato casserole, and a french toast casserole. Yum-o! (allrecipes.com)

Answer 2

First thing to consider is if your seriously trying to impress these people your hosting a lunch for. Family and friends are easier than your boss and coworkers. Impressing your guests is always the best as far as hosting a lunch. The easiest way to make sure you have delicious food, and well fed guests is getting someone to cater or ordering out food. This option is the easiest, but probably the most expensive. 30-40 people is a small load of people but you wouldn't want anything going wrong. Most restaurants have take out orderings for 20 or more. The only thing you would need to purchase separately would be drinks. To avoid mess, or spilling use a punch bowl and large spoon to serve drinks.
Another option is to buy a lot of cold cut lunch meats of every kind (ham, salami, turkey, bologna ect.) and spread them delicately across several platters. On other platters, have several kinds of veggies (broccoli, carrots, celery) for dipping in ranch dressing. This method could become tedious and could also be costly.
I would go with the order out option considering that you have no helpers, you want well fed guests and don't want a lot of hassle!

Answer 3

Start making a priority list NOW. List every detail you think of as you think of it.

After you have that list, decide what you can or can't do. There is nothing in the rule book that says you can't go to the grocery store, buy 5 pounds of potato salad, and serve it in a nice bowl. You DON'T have to do it all yourself.

The other thing is to just ask your guests to bring some thing. Most people are happy to help. Have a list of things you will need that some one else can pick up for you. Then add their names to your list.

Pretty soon you'll see that all but the main dish will be brought by others! No need to panic. Just set the table, and fix your turkey. (Or whatever is it you decide to make.) Everyone will tell you how wonderful the turkey is! So you get credit for the whole thing. Success!

Relax. Make lots of lists. You'll get through it much easier than you think.

Answer 4

Wow , sounds like FUN! I always get those brochures from the deli and try to copy their trays. It's much cheaper that way! Since it's lunch, you can do the deli tray or opt for a hot roast beef in aujus in a crockpot instead if you want. I like to do those disposable 9x13 trays of casseroles. YUMMY.
Ask a few people to bring dessert and if you have a large 40cup coffee pot, fire it up! Buffets are fun and people can choose what they want without feeling obligated to try everything. A lot of people here serve hot punch or some kind of punch. I can't have sugar, so make sure you offer diet soda, water, or coffee for diabetics or those getting a jumpstart on the new years diet!
All in all, have fun! Put on some smelly candles and stink up the place! LOL Everyone loves the smells and foods of Christmas.

Answer 5

Light up the Bar-B-Que Grill and do Hot dogs and Hamburgers and vegetables on the grill. Have someone volunteer to do the cooking and you can do the rest. Order a cooked Virginia Ham sliced from the Butcher and get salads from the local Deli, patato, cold slaw etc. Have munchies like pretzels and peanuts and chips and salsa and plenty of soft drinks and alcohol s(Get a volunteer Bartender) and you got a party. Make sure to make a Punch Bowl and an EggNog Bowl. Pick up Apple Pies and Pumpkin Pies from the SuperMarket and you are done. Music is optional.

Answer 6

Its not only about serving the best food in town
I think you got to host your party at a swanky place - a place with a classy and peaceful environment that is accessible to everybody listed in your guest lists. That should get your guests talking not only about the food but the place where you held the event - it shows them you are a great host for throwing a party in a great place. Then there's music, buffet, desserts, choice of programs (what are guests expected to do in the party beside talking) If you are unsure about what kind of food to prepare then why not hire a caterer? although it depends what is the nationality of majority of your guest. This will tell you what kind of food to serve with consideration for the minority as well. A little bit of everything as they say. For example, I attended this Indian cocktail wedding reception and all they served was Indian food which I didn't like there were a few chinese guests who also didn't like the food so we all ended up taking tons of drinks to put something in our belly. I find that party absolutely a disaster.
Or you can throw a costume christmas party...
Or you can ask someone to sponsor a raffle of prizes to be given to some of your lucky guests and you can throw a raffle...

Answer 7

Hmm..will you be cooking for this lunch? If not you can consider catering if your hands are tied. Check out your local caterers to see if it's not too late to order you lunch for up to 40 people. After that, all you have to worry about are just the bubblys and conversation during your party.

But if you are attempting to cook. I would suggest these options for a mini buffet:
- Main: 1 large turkey, Christmas ham, roast beef, pasta
- Sides: Salad, finger foods (mini pizzas or samosas), sushis, chips and dips, fruit salad or egg nog
- Beverage: Red/White wines, juices, sparkling juices.

Most of the items above can be purchased from your local supermarket which are already precooked. All you need to do is to just heat it up in the oven. Therefore you can buy them a few days before hand and keep them refridgerated.

Good luck to your lunch party! Merry Christmas!

Answer 8

The best advice I can give you is to get a couple of long'ish tables put together lengthwise. Get snacks out such as veggies (with ranch dipping sauce and whatnot) and other things. Make a variety of sandwiches cut in half (diagonally). Put out some Philadelphia cream cheese and Club crackers (pre-slice the cheese about 1/8" or less in thickness). Get some sharp cheddar cheese to put with the crackers as well. DRINKS: Make sure you have a large variety of them as well. Pepsi products as well as Coke products. If this is a business or even a business casual, don't get any of the cheap soda's (if you're trying to impress anyone and/or your boss.. Heh)

Other than that.. Just make sure there's enough food for everyone!

Hope this helps :) Rob

Answer 9

In addition to everything that was already said, its so important to me that i get logistics taken care of at least a week in advance. Always give people options when providing food. Don't assume that everyone eats meat...or eats beef, or whatever. Its best to provide an equal amount of food for each type of entree. For example, 1 beef entree, 1 chicken entree, and at least 1 veggie entree. Its considerate to provide at least one vegetarian option.

i would also assume that people will be bringing people with them, so unless its an exact # event, I always plan to have more people than i expected. For instance, let's say its an office party, and 65 people RSVP'd....i plan for 80.

Answer 10

well the most important tip tha i wuold give be tat u should keep the people happy! well you can prepare any type of food such as pastries, breads, cakes or even turkey! you can make them happy by greeting them merry christmas and giving them little gifts, not too expensive. also don't forget to buy gifts for the ones you love a lot!......but make sure you don't destroy the plans for that party. you can also organize some games as well! this would b my ans to your question