Plan Your Party Right

• November 23, 2023
• Entertaining

This is how much you need.

by Erin Henderson

I’ve planned the food and beverage for everything from big-bash weddings to conservative, corporate lunches for a good 15 years now.

And I’ve picked up a thing or two over that time.

You may also like: How to Plan a Stress-Free and Stylish Bash

One is dancing at the company Christmas party will come back to haunt you, and the other is that while ordering a teensy bit more than you need is fine, ordering buckets more is a waste of money and energy.

Below is the checklist we’ve created for food, drinks, rentals, and staffing. 

Drinks

Count on each guest enjoying two drinks in the first hour, and one drink every hour after that. So, a three-hour party will see each guest have four drinks, a five-hour party will have six drinks, and so on. This number is regardless of whether these drinks have alcohol or not.

For a rough count we estimate:

• Wine: Half bottle per person (assuming other cocktails and drinks are being served)
• Spirits: A standard, 750ml bottle will allow for 26 single drinks, or 13 doubles (whether you need single or double portions depends on your cocktail menu)
• Mixes: This depends on the cocktails being served; multiply the single drink recipe by how many guests you have and the number of drinks they’re estimated to consume.
• Water: One cup per person at a cocktail party, two cups at a sit-down dinner. 
• Ice: One pound per person in winter; three pounds in the summer. (This will take care of ice buckets, ice for shaking and ice in drinks.)

You may also like: Why You Need a Signature Cocktail

Food

Catering lore will suggest one pound of food per adult and half a pound per child. And, common theory is people will eat more at night than during the day. 

Cocktail Parties

• Canapes: 8-12 pieces per person
• Cheese: 1 oz per person, per cheese
• Charcuterie: 1 oz per person, per cheese
• Dips: 2 Tbsp per person  

You may also like: 3 Tips for an Easy Cocktail Party (video)

Dinner Parties

• Appetizers: 4-6 pieces per person
• Main dish: 8 ounces per person
• Salads and Sides: ½ cup per person
• Dessert: 4 oz per person

You also may like: Casserole is Clutch for Dinner Parties

Rentals and Staff:

You certainly don't have to order rentals and staffing, but for larger gatherings, the expense pays off tenfold. Or 1,000 fold. Regardless of whether you use your own inventory and elbow grease, or someone else's, this is what you need. 

• Wine and Cocktail Glasses: 1 per person, per hour
• Water Glasses: 1 per person
• Cocktail napkins: 5 per person
• Trays: 1 per server
• Servers: 1 server per 20 people for cocktail parties; 1 server per 15 people for dinner parties
• Bartenders: 1 bartender per 30 people for cocktail parties; 1 bartender per 50 people for dinner parties
• Optional (but highly recommended for parties bigger than 25): Coat racks, hangers, and host/coat taker (this person can also double as a "floater" to help with service or the bar after guests arrive and depart.)

You may also like: Wine Pros' Best Tips for Stress Free Entertaining