52 people coming for a suprise party.....?!
52 people coming for a suprise party.....?
Ok, I just got word that the suprise party that is being Hosted at my home tonight has grown from about 20 people to more than 50+. Mexican food is the birthday girls favorite food, thank goodness it is inexpensive, and since none of us drink alcohol, the expenses should be managable, however... what to serve? Children will be here as well. We do not have enough sitting room, and I have no clue as to how long this should last. ANY suggestions are welcome.
Answers:
I'll be there at 4. Dang gurl you need help. Wrap cooked chicken in corn tortillas throw enchillada sauce on em. cook at 400 for 20 min. Throw cheese back on for 5 more minutes. Have bowls for sour cream, more cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, etc.
As far as entertainment, Mexican musical chairs. Grab a mexican CD at walmart. and throw a pinata up in a tree and let the husband do that. Oh and remind him just to help.
If it were me, I would do all appetizers. Things of substance like different quisadillas, taquitos, and tortillas with an assortment of dips. You can buy them frozen at a warehouse store, or just make them in advance and freeze them, heating some up every hour or so. This way, the food can be served all night, and you don't have to worry about people needing to sit down with a knife and fork. I have seen appetizer dishes that have a little hole in one corner so you can put a stemmed glass in it, freeing up one hand to eat with. Here is an example: http://www.winewares.com/cgi-bin/wwc/prd...
I think you can find paper ones too. Party stores may sell them along with plastic stemmed glasses. Sometimes kids don't like spicy or fancy food, so I would have some mac and cheese ready to make just in case.
Serve: Flan, Chips, Guacamole, Mole, Rice, Beans, Margaritas, Tequila, Lots of soda and punch. Play Music in Spanish. Daddy Yankee, Don Omar, Ivy Queen, Shakira... Buy a donkey Pinata, put candy in it with a few dollar bills in it. Have the kids play tag and games that keep them up on their feet so the adults can sit down. Have a dancefloor so the adults wont get bored and they don't have to be sitting down all the time. The more activities they do the more fun... and it will make them tired so they will probably leave sooner.
Walking Tacos! I serve these at scrapbooking retreats for a lot of people and everyone loves them. Your problem is time! You need the Doritos in an individual serving bag, a lot of taco meat, and everything else that go with tacos. Give them a plastic fork and they can eat right out of the bag.
Grill or broil some chicken breasts then slice them up and combine with a few packets of taco seasoning, top with shredded cheese and lettuce and tomatoes.......wrap in a tortilla shell for a quick fajita.
brown some chopped meat and add a few taco seasoning packets for a quick taco. Put in a taco shell and top with more of the cheese, tomatoes and lettuce........
you can buy packaged refried beans that you can heat in the microwave. sprinkle with a little pinch of plain bread crumbs
arrange tortilla chips in a tin 9x13" tin pan, put chips in a 425 degree oven for 8-10 minutes, remove, cover with shredded cheddar cheese and bake another 5 minutes. Remove from oven and top with lettuce tomatoes and some finely chopped onions and some black olives........walla you have a quick nacho dish
You can put all this together in less than an hour and a half and the kids will love the food that they can eat with their hands. Get a candy filled piniata from your local party store.
4 very quick and cheap ideas
Also, put out some different chips and a few types of salsa's and a few bowls of sour cream.
Just be sure to have plenty of beverages (including things like bottled water -- not just carbonated beverages) and fill in with chips, veggies (carrots, celery, etc.), nuts and finger foods for munchies. My concern is there won't be enough cake...maybe you can pick up a simple back-up 1/4 sheet cake from your local bakery or grocery store. This won't feed everyone a full meal, but should provide enough munchies and drinks with enough variety to keep everyone happy.
I like the taco idea, just have everything cut up and in large containers and let people make their own the way they like them. Nacho's are also a good idea. Take bags of nacho chips, pour them into big tim pans, sprinkle over them taco seasoned, cooked ground beef or turkey and cheese. Bake at 350F until cheese is melted. Top with sliced jalepeno's, chopped tomato, shredded lettuce. A side of rice and beans is always a good choice. For dessert the traditional Birthday cake of course. For drinks, Goya makes spanish soda's like coconut and other interesting flavors.
Since it has grown so much at last minute...you may have to buy some premade stuff...
but go with a buffet idea:
Meat, spanish rice, refried beans, shredded cheese, diced tomatoes, lettuce, sour cream, tortillas, hard taco shells
you can also get a large box of taquitos in the frozen food aisle and throw them in the oven...they also make mini tacos in this aisle too...this stuff will be good for the kids.
Make a big pot of rotel cheese dip in the crock pot and get several bags of chips!
Try to pick up a pinata at a party store...or maybe two....and try to get the kids to migrate outside and hang the pinatas from a tree branch. Hopefully the weather will stay nice and you keep everyone outside most of the time. I think a couple hours or until dark is long enough for the party!
Have fun and wish the birthday girl a happy one!!
make your own tacos get all the ingredients (beef, chicken, lettuce, tomato,onion, sour cream, cheese) make a huge tray of nachos (meat, salsa, cheese, sour cream) get hard and soft shell tacos out all ingredients on the table let people make their own stuff.
BUY 8 PACKS OF TORTILLAS,, TACOS FOR EVERYONE,,6LBS OF GROUND CHUCK,ADD SALT PEPPER, ONION AND COOK TILL DONE,,6 LBS OF CHICKEN BREAST SLICED AND COOK I N OIL,ONION,SALT PEPPER CUMIN, AND OREGANO ,COOK TILL DONE,,,,MAKE PICO DEL GALLO,4LBS OF TOMATO, 1 LB. OF ONION, 1/2 A LB OF JALAPENO,AND A BUNCH OF CILANTRO,,,GRATE CHEDDAR CHEESE 1LB, CHIPS, YOU COULD ALSO MAKE A SIMPLE CHILE, WITH 5 CANS OF BEANS OF PINTO, AND KIDNEY, SAUTE WITH OIL ADD ONION, GREEN PEPPER,CUMIN,RED PEPPER,AND 1 CUP OF BULGHAR ,PAPRIKA,TOMATO SAUCE AND SIMMER A HALF HOUR EASY AND DONE,,CORNBREAD IS ALSO GOOD ...SERVE TO DRINK,FRESH LEMONADE, ICED TEA, ICED COFFEE,,,,,DESERT COULD BE JELLO FOR CHILDREN, AND FRUIT SALAD FOR ADULTS,,,NAMASTE