SO..Who's had a barbecue recently?

I'm thinking of having a small BBQ for FH's birthday (under 10 people) but I've never had a BBQ before. What do I need?

Plates
napkins
cups
forks, knives and spoons
beer, soda, ice
hamburgers, hot dogs, veggie burgers, veggie dogs


what else?

Also, how much did your last BBQ cost?

corn on the cob
salads - green salad, potato salad, etc

thanks so much!


ETA: Do you think it will cost a fortune?

My mom is throwing a BBQ for my shower.

She said she is having:

hamburgers, hot dogs, sausage and peppers, chicken, fruit salad, potato salad, macaroni salad, garden salad, and cake.

You'll also want condiments: ketchup, mustard.

Don't forget buns, too!

It shouldn't be too much $$ if it is less than 10 people.

Well, FH and I threw a Luau on Saturday (we do every year)--and from food to alcohol costed us a little over $800, but we kinda go a little out w/ the food and stuff. And it's also very worth it considering its just once a year.

It was also for 30 + people.........

If you have a membership, go to BJ's or Costco for the bulk of your stuff.

People always offer to bring stuff, so I usually suggest people bring side dishes, etc. (or whatever they like to bring), like salads (macaroni, cole slaw, regular salad, whatever), or dessert (maybe his mom would like to get/make the birthday cake? just a suggestion)..

and we generally supply the burgers,dogs, rolls, napkins plates cups, condiments and beverages/ice. A dollar/discount store may be a good place to look for plates, forks, etc.

Drug stores or grocery stores have been having sales on condiments, salad dressings, etc so if you look around you can get them cheap.

Have fun!

If there's only going to be 10 people it shouldn't cost you that much. In fact, you can pull it off no matter what your budget is. If you don't have much to spend, keep it simple with burgers, dogs, a couple of salads, some soda and a case of beer. Then just have a small b-day cake for dessert.
If you've got a little more money, I would suggest also grilling some chicken and london broil (you don't need 1 steak per person, just get maybe 3-4 steaks and slice it so everyone can have some.) Maybe make a big thing of sangria or Margheritas so people have more drink options. And for dessert, in addition to a b-day cake, you can have some pastries and assorted fruit.

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Posted by marymoon

thanks so much!

ETA: Do you think it will cost a fortune?

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You won't believe how quickly it all adds up... We had a huge one last year...needless to say...we did not even want to sit down and figure what the final cost was... My advise...find time to enjoy yourself! We cooked, cleaned, ran around playing hostess that we forgot to have a good time...

Don't forget buns and cheese and lots of napkins. Oh, and ice.

It shouldn't be too much money (around $100?) if you are budget conscious and since it's only 10 people.

You could also make a nice punch.

Thanks so much for the tips!

My friend offered to bring a side dish and some soda. So I think I might just mention that if anyone wants to bring anyting, a side dish or dessert would be good. We're the ones who are always having everyone over and it's our closest closest friends, so I don't really mind saying you know, 'hey tom, can you bring a watermelon?'

Waldbaums is having a 10 for $10 sale on condiments so I want to run there and take advantage before it ends.

How do you make chicken on the barbecue? I'm a vegetarian, so obviously this whole barbecue concept is somewhat foreign to me. I figure since we're having burgers, if I have to choose b/w steak and chicken I'll choose chicken in case someone doesn't want beef and/or isn't into veggie burgers.

I'm just hoping it works out. A lot of forces have to converge to make this possible - the lady on the 1st floor has to let us use the yard (there's some confusin about whether or not we have yard rights. When we moved in another couple was moving in upstairs and we were supposed to share with them, but now it's a different person, so I don't know...but she's pretty nice, so we'll see), my sister has to let us borrow her portable barbecue, everyone has to be available for the date and it has to NOT RAIN!

Do you think I need yard lights? or can we just go in after dark? Is there anything that's removable?

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Posted by marymoon

Thanks so much for the tips!

My friend offered to bring a side dish and some soda. So I think I might just mention that if anyone wants to bring anyting, a side dish or dessert would be good. We're the ones who are always having everyone over and it's our closest closest friends, so I don't really mind saying you know, 'hey tom, can you bring a watermelon?'

Waldbaums is having a 10 for $10 sale on condiments so I want to run there and take advantage before it ends.

How do you make chicken on the barbecue? I'm a vegetarian, so obviously this whole barbecue concept is somewhat foreign to me. I figure since we're having burgers, if I have to choose b/w steak and chicken I'll choose chicken in case someone doesn't want beef and/or isn't into veggie burgers.

I'm just hoping it works out. A lot of forces have to converge to make this possible - the lady on the 1st floor has to let us use the yard (there's some confusin about whether or not we have yard rights. When we moved in another couple was moving in upstairs and we were supposed to share with them, but now it's a different person, so I don't know...but she's pretty nice, so we'll see), my sister has to let us borrow her portable barbecue, everyone has to be available for the date and it has to NOT RAIN!

Do you think I need yard lights? or can we just go in after dark? Is there anything that's removable?

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you can put candles on the table or we also have those things... ugggh I cant think of the name.. you stick them in the ground and light the wick on fire.. it keeps the bugs away but adds light also!!!

Dont forget to have something out there to help keep the bugs away!!!

I marinate the chicken, put down a piece of tinfoil and cook the chicken on that.

ETA: I dont know if this was added but dessert, maybe a veggie platter, salad, and don't forget the ice!!!!

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Posted by marymoon

How do you make chicken on the barbecue? I'm a vegetarian, so obviously this whole barbecue concept is somewhat foreign to me. I figure since we're having burgers, if I have to choose b/w steak and chicken I'll choose chicken in case someone doesn't want beef and/or isn't into veggie burgers.


Do you think I need yard lights? or can we just go in after dark? Is there anything that's removable?

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Checken is really easy, you can either marinate chicken breasts and just throw them on the grill, or you can even get some wings drumsticks and season them with salt, pepper and garlic and throw them on the grill. You could also just put a bunch of bbq sauce on them (that's how my DH likes them.) Just remember the chicken takes a while to cook.

As for lights, just get some candles and citronella tiki torches. That should be fine.

make sure your plates are plastic rather paper! it's a bummer when the paper plate can hold its shape.

corn - has to be fresh! i dun like the frozen ones. the texture comes out rubbery and taste.. bland. go for fresh!

fruits - as ripe as can be.

music - for hte obvious reason.

playing cards - to get a group of ppl involved in a game or two.

hmm... sun block...?

can think of anything else..

Thank you so much. I feel so much more prepared. I really hope this works out. It should be fun!

What's a good time of day to start a BBQ? I was thinking 3pm? Will it still be too hot?