5 ms·

How the heck do you manage to host a $3K cocktail party? You can run an open bar with two bartenders for 50 people for that price? (Unless everybody is a compl

by groby_b 9mo ago

How the heck do you manage to host a $3K cocktail party? You can run an open bar with two bartenders for 50 people for that price? (Unless everybody is a complete lush, I guess ;)

tsunamifury 9mo ago
Well 50 people attended. So. Yea? Two parents for 21 students or so plus a few extras.
- roel_v 9mo ago
  GP said 'open bar with 2 bartenders'. I.e. commercially priced drinks, and staff. Did you have those? If so, pro tip, next time just get a few cases of various drinks, plonk them on a table with a bunch of glasses (rented, if need be) and call it good. People can't drink soft drink for more than, say, 3 USD worth in an afternoon; and even if you served 12 years Glenfiddich to everyone including the children, enough of it to knock them all out, you still wouldn't have spend more than $1000. So yeah still wondering what sort of party you threw. I mean, yeah it's easily possible to spend that much, but it's also possible to do it for much less and you don't even need to really try.
  - throwup238 9mo ago
    > If so, pro tip, next time just get a few cases of various drinks, plonk them on a table That's not a cocktail party, that's a tailgate.
  - groby_b 9mo ago
    > GP said 'open bar with 2 bartenders'. I.e. commercially priced drinks, and staff. GP here, and no, that doesn't mean that. It means you hire 2 bartenders to make the drinks, and you buy the supplies they use. And, no, if you want a cocktail party, you don't "plonk a few cases of drinks on the table". That's also a fun party, but a different kind.
  - tsunamifury 9mo ago
    This is not a 'pro tip' this is a clueless tip.
bawolff 9mo ago
I can easily imagine a high end catered party costing that much. I don't think there is an upper limit on how much hosting a party costs. You can always go fancier if you have money to burn.
ljm 9mo ago
That honestly seems quite cheap for 'very upper class' where I imagine everyone's suited and booted, dressed up for the evening, possibly some live music, etc.
- tsunamifury 9mo ago
  Correct. I did not spring for live music or help.
mmcgaha 9mo ago
Christmas dinner for my immediate family almost $500. That was pretty much dinner and our favorite appetizers but does not count the liquor and wine. This was just me, my ex, five kids, a daughter in law and grandchild. I can see getting to 3k pretty fast.
- cpburns2009 9mo ago
  How did you spend $500 on dinner for 9 people? I hosted Christmas dinner for my family with about 10 adults and 10 kids, and it cost at most $200 divided between 5 families, alcohol included.
  - hypeatei 9mo ago
    Dinner for twenty people at $200 is farcical in the US unless your family owns a farm or something. Going to need more details because I'm inclined to say that's bullshit. Beer and liquor alone would blow past that figure.
    - groby_b 9mo ago
      "host" implies in your home, not in a restaurant. If your version of hosting is "let's outsource it and just open the wallet", then, yes, sure, you can spend a lot of money. It ain't hosting, though. You failed the "what if I just replaced you with a bank account" test.
      - hypeatei 9mo ago
        Yes, I know what hosting is and $200 for that many people is still farcical.
    - cpburns2009 9mo ago
      No farm is needed. It's not that hard. I spent about: $25 on a chicken dish (chicken from Costco + ingredients), $15 for baked mac & cheese (ingredients from Meijer), $20 on ciders, $40 on 2 bottles of Cherry Republic wine. The other family members: $20 on raw vegetables and cheese platter; $20 on fruit; $10 potato dish; $10 vegetable dish; $15 on dessert; $15 on salad. Oh and $2 on juice boxes for the little kids (~4 from a juice box 40 pack from Costco). I'm estimating what the others spent, but that's what it would cost me to make the same dishes. That totals to $192.

by groby_b 9mo ago

How the heck do you manage to host a $3K cocktail party? You can run an open bar with two bartenders for 50 people for that price? (Unless everybody is a complete lush, I guess ;)

tsunamifury 9mo ago

Well 50 people attended. So. Yea? Two parents for 21 students or so plus a few extras.

roel_v 9mo ago
GP said 'open bar with 2 bartenders'. I.e. commercially priced drinks, and staff. Did you have those? If so, pro tip, next time just get a few cases of various drinks, plonk them on a table with a bunch of glasses (rented, if need be) and call it good. People can't drink soft drink for more than, say, 3 USD worth in an afternoon; and even if you served 12 years Glenfiddich to everyone including the children, enough of it to knock them all out, you still wouldn't have spend more than $1000. So yeah still wondering what sort of party you threw. I mean, yeah it's easily possible to spend that much, but it's also possible to do it for much less and you don't even need to really try.
- throwup238 9mo ago
  > If so, pro tip, next time just get a few cases of various drinks, plonk them on a table That's not a cocktail party, that's a tailgate.
- groby_b 9mo ago
  > GP said 'open bar with 2 bartenders'. I.e. commercially priced drinks, and staff. GP here, and no, that doesn't mean that. It means you hire 2 bartenders to make the drinks, and you buy the supplies they use. And, no, if you want a cocktail party, you don't "plonk a few cases of drinks on the table". That's also a fun party, but a different kind.
- tsunamifury 9mo ago
  This is not a 'pro tip' this is a clueless tip.

bawolff 9mo ago

I can easily imagine a high end catered party costing that much. I don't think there is an upper limit on how much hosting a party costs. You can always go fancier if you have money to burn.

ljm 9mo ago

That honestly seems quite cheap for 'very upper class' where I imagine everyone's suited and booted, dressed up for the evening, possibly some live music, etc.

tsunamifury 9mo ago
Correct. I did not spring for live music or help.

mmcgaha 9mo ago

Christmas dinner for my immediate family almost $500. That was pretty much dinner and our favorite appetizers but does not count the liquor and wine. This was just me, my ex, five kids, a daughter in law and grandchild. I can see getting to 3k pretty fast.

cpburns2009 9mo ago
How did you spend $500 on dinner for 9 people? I hosted Christmas dinner for my family with about 10 adults and 10 kids, and it cost at most $200 divided between 5 families, alcohol included.
- hypeatei 9mo ago
  Dinner for twenty people at $200 is farcical in the US unless your family owns a farm or something. Going to need more details because I'm inclined to say that's bullshit. Beer and liquor alone would blow past that figure.
  - groby_b 9mo ago
    "host" implies in your home, not in a restaurant. If your version of hosting is "let's outsource it and just open the wallet", then, yes, sure, you can spend a lot of money. It ain't hosting, though. You failed the "what if I just replaced you with a bank account" test.
    - hypeatei 9mo ago
      Yes, I know what hosting is and $200 for that many people is still farcical.
  - cpburns2009 9mo ago
    No farm is needed. It's not that hard. I spent about: $25 on a chicken dish (chicken from Costco + ingredients), $15 for baked mac & cheese (ingredients from Meijer), $20 on ciders, $40 on 2 bottles of Cherry Republic wine. The other family members: $20 on raw vegetables and cheese platter; $20 on fruit; $10 potato dish; $10 vegetable dish; $15 on dessert; $15 on salad. Oh and $2 on juice boxes for the little kids (~4 from a juice box 40 pack from Costco). I'm estimating what the others spent, but that's what it would cost me to make the same dishes. That totals to $192.