Need ideas for a cheap 28th birthday party? Help!?

Question

My fiance is turning 28 next month. He has told me that he wants to do a party at home. I can only afford to spend between $150-200 max and usually we end up with around 30 guests. The theme that he wants to do is a western one but he's open to anything else. I really don't want to cook for that many people but if I have to I will. Also, I don't want to do another barbeque. His sister had a party not to long ago and that's what she did. Since this is a similar group of people, we can't (and I don't) want to repeat that style of cooking. Does anyone have any ideas for this? I would really appreciate it. Thanks!

Answer 1

why dont u try this.......

  chicken drumsticks, french frys [potato chips],fried rice,sauce,coca cola......

if u think that's not enough give them something different with that...like a pretty necklace to ladies and  trouser belts for gents....

Answer 2

love the chili idea above! or you could make it a chili cook off for all the guests- they can enter their chili and have the birthday boy vote on the winner- have a ribbon for 1st 2nd and 3rd- that way you save on cooking also! or tacos is good too! grilling is alot of work...and can be expensive.

get a 1/4 barrel of beer if you know a lot of people drink beer to save some money, and just make a batch of spiked punch to serve for ladies who may not drink beer- keeps it cheap instead of having a bunch of different alcohol available. make cute Western invites and have guests dress in Western wear. know anyone with kids that may have some rocking horses that you can borrow to use as decorations around the yard? you can also play a game of "Lasso the Horse" with one of them- make  lasso and see who does it fastest for a special prize like a $5 gift card or something fun. use a clear plastic bin and buy a small bail of hay and hide western items in the hay like little toy horses or something- person who finds the most in a minute gets a prize. Cow pie toss-make cow pies form mud (or get real ones!) and see who can throw it the farthest or something. pie eating contest or watermelon.  have a square dance lesson or line dance lesson. maybe a blindfolded egg gathering competition for the girls- have to go from one end to the other taking eggs from basket to basket without breaking the eggs. there are lots of fun games you can play- even pin the tail on the donkey!

Answer 3

Option 1

Have a Potluck party

Make a huge pot of real chili, some cornbread and the cake of course, let everyone know what you are making and have them bring one dish to share.

Beer and soda

Option 2

A couple big trays of hot dogs and beans, just cut up the hot dogs and heat thru with the beans in the oven. Corn on the cob on the side.

Have a whole bunch of snacks... beef jerky, chips, chicken wings, pretzels, pickles and olives.

Beer, Soda and cake

Western theme: check out Shidigz.com for ideas on decorations.

Party favors- gold coin chocolate candy in mesh bags

Answer 4

Ok buy your drink in the supermarket, about a 130 quid worth, buy chicken wings, cocktail sausages, nachos and a few dips, buy bread, ham and cheese and make sandwiches, get some music together get drunk and enjoy your party

Answer 5

This sounds like a great time for a "chili bar" or some such thing. You can go to a smart and final or costco/sams club, and get a couple huge cans of chili which are pretty darn inexpensive. You can also get a huge can of nacho cheese, a bag of shredded, lettuce, fritos/corn chips, jalapenos, some onions, sour cream, tomatoes, etc. Borrow some crock pots for the chili and chop up your veggies, then put everything out in a nice display with some bowls, spoons, hot sauce. If you are serving alchohol, you can definately get by with beer/wine which is less expensive too. It's actually a lot of fun and feeds a lot of people and definately within your budget. You can buy inexpensive red/white checked plastic tablecloths and a bale of hay or two to sit on. Tell everyone to wear their cowboy hat!

Another thought would be to do "western" in a different way, what about southwest? Same idea as above, but maybe you do taco fixings instead. Use the crockpot for beef or chicken, set out all the fixings, and some options for nachos/tacos/burritos (soft taco shells, hard shells, corn chips). You have the western influence but it's something totally different. You can do a mexican beer with lime/chili which again would be a cheap way to do booze, and decorate with a mexican flair.

When i'm doing a theme party, i usually get music to match and i'll ask people to dress to the theme which is half the fun. I always get about 10 extra "costumes" for people that don't dress (for instance, on my elvis theme, i bought 10 sets of elvis sunglasses that non dressed up people wore. You can get some cheap bandanas at the party store or dollar store.