Party food & drink planner
How much food and drink for a headcount.
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How it's calculated
Caterers plan two drinks per guest in the first hour and one for each hour after, so drinks are guests times hours plus one. The share who drink alcohol splits that into alcoholic and soft drinks; the alcoholic ones are divided 40% beer, 40% wine and 20% spirits, with five glasses to a bottle of wine and sixteen pours to a bottle of spirits. Appetisers run about six bites per guest per hour when they are the meal and three when dinner follows. Ice is a pound and a half per guest for chilling and glasses.
How many appetisers per person?
About six bites per hour when appetisers are the meal, dropping as the evening goes on, and three to four per hour before a dinner. For a two-hour cocktail party with 20 guests that is 240 pieces across five or six different items, two or three of them substantial.
How much alcohol for a party of 20?
For four hours with 15 drinkers: about 75 alcoholic drinks, so 30 beers, 6 bottles of wine and one bottle of spirits, plus 25 soft drinks and water. Buy a little extra of what your crowd prefers; unopened bottles usually return.
Should I shift the mix?
Yes, to your guests. A summer barbecue leans beer, a dinner party wine, a cocktail party spirits. Keep the total drinks figure and move the 40 / 40 / 20 split; the per-bottle maths stays the same.
Results are estimates for informational purposes only and are not financial, medical or legal advice.