A good party at home does not take a lot of money, it takes calculation. About ten people come, stay till late, and the fridge must hold enough so that nobody is left without a drink and something to nibble. And you do not want to spend three days afterwards finishing a mountain of cold cuts. Let us count just once.

Below is a simple plan: how much of each to take per person, how to split the budget and when to go shopping. There are no prices in the text, they change every week: you will see the current shop offers in the live blocks.

First the format of the evening

Decide what kind of party it is. A buffet: everyone stands or sits wherever they can, eats with their hands, and you need snacks in small portions. A seated evening: there is a table, plates, fewer snacks are needed, but they are closer to real food. A party before something: for example before a match or a film, when you need snacks and drinks and a hot dish is optional.

Everything else depends on the format. For a party of four or five hours use the figures below. If it is shorter, reduce the norms, if it is longer, add a quarter or a fifth and definitely something hot.

Snacks: about four hundred grams per person

Per person roughly this is enough:

  • cheese platter: about fifty to a hundred grams;
  • cold cuts and meat platter: about fifty to a hundred grams;
  • vegetables (cucumbers, tomatoes, peppers, carrots): about a hundred and fifty grams;
  • bread, crackers or crisps: fifty to seventy grams;
  • something sweet: fruit, biscuits or chocolate, about a hundred grams.

For ten guests that means a kilo of cheese and a kilo of cold cuts, a kilo and a half of vegetables, half a kilo of bread or crackers. It is better to take several kinds of platter in small amounts than one kind in large amounts: that way the party looks richer.

What there is now in cheese:

In the catalogues now: cheese

All offers

What there is now in sausages:

In the catalogues now: sausages and cold cuts

All offers

Beer, wine and soft drinks

We count drinks for the whole evening. Per person two or three bottles of beer are enough over four or five hours, or one bottle of wine for two or three guests. If people drink both, count by the smaller norm of each. Of soft drinks take about a litre and a half per person: water, juices, fizzy drinks for mixing. For drivers and children it is better to have them in reserve.

It is easier to buy drinks two or three days ahead: they do not spoil, and you will not be carrying heavy bags at the last minute. Chill them a day ahead and buy the ice on the day of the party: about half a kilo per person if the drinks stand in buckets.

What there is now in beer:

In the catalogues now: beer

All offers

What there is now in wine:

In the catalogues now: wine

All offers

And here is what there is in soft drinks:

In the catalogues now: fizzy drinks

All offers

Budget logic: three simple rules

The first rule: the number first, the price second. Count how many people and how many grams, and only then choose what to buy. That way you will not buy "just in case" more than you need.

The second: split the budget into three: snacks, drinks, small things. Small things (ice, napkins, disposable tableware, rubbish bags and the like) always eat up more than you expect.

The third: take the basics simpler and spend on one thing. For example ordinary beer and a good cheese platter. Guests remember one good thing, not ten average ones.

The shopping schedule

A week ahead: make the guest list, decide on the format, agree who brings what. It is good if guests bring something of their own: that way nothing goes to waste.

Two or three days ahead: drinks, savoury snacks, disposable tableware, napkins, rubbish bags.

A day ahead: cheese, cold cuts, bread, vegetables and fruit, sweets. Chill the drinks.

On the day of the party: ice, greens, fresh bread. Lay the table an hour before the guests arrive.

A ready-made basket for the party

If you want to check yourself against a list, open the "Party" basket: it has the basic products and shows where each is cheaper now:

What it costs: What to buy for a party: cheaper beer and snacks

The whole set at the best prices168.23 leiFound 6 of 6 items

Where to get the set

  • Bonus6 of 6 itemsMost items
    159.94 lei
  • Nr16 of 6 items
    165.05 lei
  • Slavena6 of 6 items
    183.65 lei
  • Jardi6 of 6 items
    203.52 lei
The whole basket

More offers of the week are in the discounts and in the catalogues.

A short checklist

  • The format of the evening is chosen, the number of guests is known.
  • Snacks: about four to five hundred grams per person.
  • Beer: two or three bottles, wine: a bottle for two or three people.
  • About a litre and a half of soft drinks per person.
  • The budget is split into snacks, drinks and small things.
  • Ice, tableware, napkins and rubbish bags are bought.