If it makes anyone feel better (probably not), I'm spending about $350 on food for our twins upcoming Christening. I guess on a per child basis, not as bad since twins and economies of scale. If it were up to me, I'd spend $0, but I'm married - win some, lose some.
What are you serving? I have a 1st communion in 6 months and need some ideas.
I know you weren't asking me, but what kind of crowd are you serving, and at what time?
A classic menu for an afternoon gathering (i.e., not a meal) would be a fruit platter, a veggie platter, a cheese and cracker platter and cake/cupcakes. Quite simple, and can be done economically if you shop sales.
For something a little heartier, it's easy to add a crockpot full of meatballs or a couple of salads (southwest quinoa salad, greek pasta salad, a green kale salad; Pinch of Yum has a great wild rice, pomegranate and kale salad that I love to make for company).
For mealtimes, some of my go-tos for larger groups are:
- sandwich platters or sandwich bars (sometimes I do a smorgasbord of toppings, other times I preassemble sandwiches/wraps/buns/bagels) You can accommodate a pretty wide variety of tastes with something like this. To save money, you can structure your sandwich bar with the non-meat/cheese toppings first, and then people typically use a bit less of those toppings). I also love finding a large cut of meat on sale; I will marinate it, cook it, cool it, and then slice thinly. Quality is FAR superior to any sandwich meat, and the price is a fraction of the processed stuff. Tuna and egg salads are also pretty inexpensive to make up. Chickpea salad is a great vegetarian filling too)
- fajita bar
- slider bar
- meatball sub bar
- pasta bar (best if you have access to a chafing dish or crockpots to keep things warm)
- curry bar (if you know this will appeal to your guests)
You can also go more casual with a big pot or two of chili, fresh rolls and a few toppings (cheddar, cilantro, sour cream, hot sauce).
You can also fill in a table with inexpensive (but popular) items like tortilla chips and salsa or pretzels.