much I spent.
The Open House for the 2016 graduates was yesterday; it went really well. It was a nice stream of people in and out, and ended up with the kids' friends having a s'mores fest on the deck.
I didn't know how many people to plan for and we had about 40+ people (30ish ate a meal, 10ish grazed or had dessert)
I paid cash for most of it. Here is what I spent:
1) Food (deli spread/meatballs/salad/fruit) > $107
2) Dessert (cake/cupcakes/s'mores) > $61.25
3) Decorations (streamers/nice frame) > $30.00
4) Souvenir autograph pillows > $36.75
5) Paper Goods (plates/napkins/cups/utensils) > $18.00
6) Flowers > $5.00
TOTAL SPENT >> $258.50
The upside is I also have enough leftovers to feel that family for a solid several days, plus one unopened bag of meatballs and enough supplies for one more night of s'mores.
The kids received generous gifts. They'll do their thank you's tomorrow.
My house is neat and clean and (for once) organized. Everything I borrowed from my mother is heading back tomorrow. I do really like her double-sided crockpot (actually keeps hot food hot and is an easy way for a buffet to look nice and neat). I borrowed my mother's table clothe and serving dishes. And will admit it looked nice, my food spread.
We're house-bound today with only a bike ride on the to-do list. Time to start thinking about California in earnest. We land on the 15th and on the 16/17 my daughter has five meetings with various top agencies in LA. So exciting. Though I'm scared at the prospect of driving in that commotion!
Open House Expenses; Or Where I finally track every expense and know exactly how
June 5th, 2016 at 04:41 pm
June 5th, 2016 at 05:56 pm 1465149396
June 5th, 2016 at 06:15 pm 1465150510
30-40 people, well under $300, that is a job well done indeed. Congrats!
June 5th, 2016 at 07:11 pm 1465153883
June 5th, 2016 at 07:22 pm 1465154534
The bowl that has pickles is the same pattern I've collected for the past 10 years or so!
June 5th, 2016 at 08:17 pm 1465157858
June 5th, 2016 at 08:41 pm 1465159281
@ Kiki, I inherited that along with seven others from my grandmother. We call the set our "banana split" bowls since we've used them at several small events (ice cram socials when the kids graduated kindergarten).
Thanks, guys! I think it turned out pretty well, with minimal frustrations. I did keep scaling the food list back (I was also going to do sloppy joes, meatball subs v only meatballs, and had a whole other second pasta salad)!
I've also found that I can reuse several decorations and one set of paper plates which were generic "graduate" instead of 2016.
June 5th, 2016 at 10:45 pm 1465166751
June 6th, 2016 at 12:44 pm 1465217059
June 8th, 2016 at 01:14 am 1465348441
June 8th, 2016 at 04:52 am 1465361545