Thread: Debating whether to cancel

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This past weekend my MIL had an accident while quad riding which resulted in a bad brain injury & she is in the ICU for an indefinite amount of time. She lives near us but this happened on vacation out of state. My husband flew down Wednesday & will be there at least a full week.

I brought up cancelling out party on the 31st but he said no. He will be home in time, by my concern is budget. He will be missing a full week of work, living in a hotel for a week, & buying all his meals out, plus the unplanned plane ticket.

The decoarting is done. Our only expense will be food & drink but that can add up to a couple hundred dollars. We are expecting 35 people. I hate to cancel, because a few people were planning to come from out of state. & I know of some who have spent near $100 on their costume or have been making costumes.

Maybe some of you have ideas for scaling down the food costs?

Why not consider asking guest to donate towards the food or drink costs, or bring something to share.

If guest bring $5-$10 a person, it's far less than they would spend to go out, so I doubt anyone would be offended. Rather they would probably be glad to help out.

Also, so sorry to hear about your MIL..hoping for a speedy and full recovery.l

Wow- that's tough. I am really sorry to hear about your mil. I am not very good about scaling back. We cut our meny way down and have still spent a pretty penny. Maybe you could just plan to make less or as EdgarPoe mentioned, have everyone bring something. We're having 2 parties this yr. The second wlil be a pot luck. It was sort of spur of the moment and was everyones idea to do it that way. I don't think people mind.

Sorry to hear that! Hope she makes a quick recovery! As for the party, I agree with EdgarPoe. I don't see a problem asking your guests to help. At last years party, I asked each guest to bring a dish & it worked out perfect. I always make a punch but we always BYOB as well. I think your friends will be glad to help out, especially under the circumstances.

Oh no! I hope she recovers quickly.

I would ask for help - if you've got some really close friends attending, ask them if they could bring a small dish or something to help out on the food and drink and why.

I'd also go with easy eats (the more "from scratch" the cheaper the cost - you're paying way more for the prepared stuff):

cake mix is cheap and easy and you could make cupcakes (Target has sprinkles and orange/purple colored sugar toppings in the $1 section at the front of the store)

Sugar cookies are EASY to make from scratch and CHEAP too.

Deviled eggs are a bit of time to make but pretty cheap considering.

veggie tray with baby carrots and celery and ranch dressing or dip.

Chips and salsa? (don't be afraid of store brand chips - I prefer the store brand's tortilla chips and they are waaaaay cheaper. Same thing with the salsa.)

There are tons of awesome meatball recipes that are tasty and easy and cheap...

Chili?

Cheap and Easy Appetizer Recipes - Party Recipes - delish.com

sorry about your MIL, I think that you should just make it a potluck. People don't mind at all, especially if you tell them your circumstances. Have a few fun things prepared and maybe a punch, and ask for it to be a BYOB and potluck. You will be surprised at how many of your friends will want to help if only asked

We have a Halloween potluck every year and everyone brings something. Explain the situation to your friends and ask if they would mind bringing something with them. I'm sure they wouldn't care. I know we all have a great time with our potlucks. Last year one of our friends stopped by the international food market and brought some rather "exotic" items to the party. Silkworm pupae tend to have an earthy taste to them, but the candied eel was good. LOL

We try to keep our costs down by only providing beer, wine and soft drinks. Everyone knows they have to bring their own bottle if they want something stronger.
Finger sandwiches in the form of a finger are pretty inexpensive and look creepy.
FG's had some excellent ideas.
Hope your MIL recovers quickly!

MsM

Originally Posted by Frankie's Girl

Oh no! I hope she recovers quickly.

I would ask for help - if you've got some really close friends attending, ask them if they could bring a small dish or something to help out on the food and drink and why.

I'd also go with easy eats (the more "from scratch" the cheaper the cost - you're paying way more for the prepared stuff):

cake mix is cheap and easy and you could make cupcakes (Target has sprinkles and orange/purple colored sugar toppings in the $1 section at the front of the store)

Sugar cookies are EASY to make from scratch and CHEAP too.

Deviled eggs are a bit of time to make but pretty cheap considering.

veggie tray with baby carrots and celery and ranch dressing or dip.

Chips and salsa? (don't be afraid of store brand chips - I prefer the store brand's tortilla chips and they are waaaaay cheaper. Same thing with the salsa.)

There are tons of awesome meatball recipes that are tasty and easy and cheap...

Chili?

Cheap and Easy Appetizer Recipes - Party Recipes - delish.com

Frankie- I'm with you on the store brand chips. We have a supermarket that sells great chips. They are so inexpensive but taste just like the brand name IMO.