How to use the party food and drink quantity calculator
- Enter the number of adults and children, the event length in hours, and the type of event. The type decides which items are counted.
- Review the per person amounts. Every one is an example that you should change to fit your menu and guests. Set the child portion as a percent of an adult portion.
- Optionally open the advanced options and enter prices to get a cost estimate for each item that has one.
- Read the rounded up quantities in the table and shop from them. Print the page or copy the result for your list.
Formula
Adult portions = adults + children x child portion / 100
Appetizers = adult portions x pieces per hour x appetizer hours
Mains, sides, desserts = adult portions x servings per person
Drinks = adult portions x drinks per hour x event hours
Ice (lb) = all guests x pounds per person, every quantity rounded up
Quantities are rounded up to whole items, since you cannot buy part of a piece. Costs are the rounded up quantity times your price, rounded half up to the cent.
Worked example
20 adults and 5 children at a 50 percent child portion make 22.5 adult portions. For a 4 hour dinner buffet with the example amounts, appetizers over 1 hour at 4 pieces each come to 90 pieces, one main per person is 22.5 so 23 servings, two sides each is 45 servings, and one dessert is 23 servings.
Drinks at one per person per hour for 4 hours come to 90 drinks, and ice at 1 lb per guest for all 25 guests is 25 lb. If appetizers cost $0.50 a piece, drinks $1.25 each and ice $1.50 a pound, those three lines cost $45.00, $112.50 and $37.50, a total of $195.00, or $7.80 per guest.
Every amount is an example
No fixed rule says how many appetizers a guest eats in an hour. The figures filled in are starting points you can edit, so replace them with what you know about your crowd. A lunch for runners, a late evening party and a children's birthday all need different amounts. Hot weather raises the drinks, a heavy main dish lowers the sides, and a full meal lowers the appetizers.
Event types
A cocktail party counts appetizers for the whole event, desserts, drinks and ice. A dinner buffet adds mains and sides and counts appetizers only for the hours you set, since guests eat a meal later. Brunch counts mains, sides, desserts and drinks, and a dessert party counts desserts, drinks and ice. Edit any amount to zero to leave something out.
Rounding up
Each quantity rounds up so you have a little more than the exact figure. That rounding is small for big items but can matter for something like a 12 pack, so check pack sizes in the store. For a menu with several dishes, the main dish figure is the total across all of them. The recipe cost calculator can price each dish, and the grocery list maker turns the totals into a list.
What is not included
Plates, napkins, cups, seating, beverages for the designated driver, special diets, leftovers you want to send home and venue rules are not modeled. Tips and service fees for catering can be worked out in the tip calculator.
Assumptions and limits
- All per person amounts, the child portion and the appetizer hours are example values for you to edit, not statistics about how much people eat or drink.
- Children eat the child portion percent of an adult for food and drinks, and every guest counts fully for ice.
- Quantities are rounded up to whole items. Prices are optional and only the priced items are totaled.
- Waste, leftovers, special diets, late arrivals and people who skip items are not modeled.
Frequently asked questions
How many appetizers should I plan per person?
The calculator starts at 4 pieces per person per hour only as an example. Raise it for a cocktail party with no meal and lower it when dinner follows, then watch the total in the table.
Why are children counted at a percent of an adult?
Children usually eat and drink less, so the tool multiplies each child by the portion you set, 50 percent in the example. Set 100 to count them as adults, or 0 to ignore them for an item.
How is the ice amount calculated?
It is every guest times the pounds of ice you choose, rounded up to a whole pound. The 1 pound per guest is only an example, so raise it for hot days or cold drinks served from a cooler.
Can I get a cost estimate?
Yes. Open the advanced options and enter prices for the items you want to cost. The total includes only the items with a price, and it also shows a cost per guest.