How the heck do you manage to host a $3K cocktail party? You can run an open bar...

bawolff · 2026-01-16T07:46:12 1768549572

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.

mmcgaha · 2026-01-16T14:03:22 1768572202

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 · 2026-01-16T14:56:16 1768575376

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 · 2026-01-16T15:19:46 1768576786

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.

cpburns2009 · 2026-01-16T16:40:03 1768581603

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.

groby_b · 2026-01-16T15:37:03 1768577823

"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 · 2026-01-16T15:56:06 1768578966

Yes, I know what hosting is and $200 for that many people is still farcical.

tsunamifury · 2026-01-16T03:57:00 1768535820

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

roel_v · 2026-01-16T11:50:38 1768564238

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 · 2026-01-16T13:03:52 1768568632

> 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 · 2026-01-16T15:39:47 1768577987

> 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 · 2026-01-16T17:55:04 1768586104

This is not a 'pro tip' this is a clueless tip.

ljm · 2026-01-16T12:04:45 1768565085

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 · 2026-01-17T04:57:13 1768625833

Correct. I did not spring for live music or help.