New Year's Eve Party for 20 guests
A cocktail-style New Year's Eve party for 20: 5 dishes, about 161 g of food a guest (7.25 lb in all), 23 lines on the shopping list and around 112 drinks. 33% of the cooking can happen before the day.
- Dishes
- 5
- Food
- 7.25 lb
- Drinks
- 112
- Shopping lines
- 23
Sized by the planning engine
The menu, amounts and kitchen check
- · We set food for 8:30 PM — change it if your timing is different.
Menu for 20
To start
- Warm olives & fried almonds0.5 batches · 5 servingson the day
- Smoked fish plate, rye & pickles1 batch · 8 servingson the day
Starters
- Gougères1 batch · 10 servingson the day
- Devilled eggs, crisp shallot1 batch · 10 servingson the day
Dessert
- Dark chocolate pots1.5 batches · 12 servingsday before
About 161 g of food a guest. 33% of the cooking can be done before the day.
Shopping highlights
- Hot-smoked trout1.3 lb
- Citrus for garnish6 ea
- Herb for garnish — mint or rosemary2 bunch
- Shallots3 ea
- Double cream3.3 cup
- Eggs14 ea
- Gruyère8 oz
- Rye bread2 ea
- Almonds5 oz
- Cornichons6 oz
10 of 23 lines. The full list comes with the plan.
Kitchen check
Over capacity
Checked against a starting kitchen of 1 oven and 4 burners — not yours yet. Seats are not counted here: the planner asks for your real number rather than guessing it.
Drinks and cost
- Drinks, all kinds
- 112
- Ice
- 45 lb
- Food, estimated
- $362
About $18 a guest — a planning estimate from typical supermarket costs, not a price.
Countdown
The New Year's Eve timeline, condensed
4 weeks before
- · Send invitations early; people make New Year's plans in November.
- · Plan bites that arrive in two waves: early evening and around eleven.
2 weeks before
- · Order sparkling wine and a zero-proof sparkling alternative.
- · Buy decorations: metallic balloons, streamers, noisemakers.
1 week before
- · Confirm numbers and ask how people are getting home.
- · Make and freeze gougères and arancini to bake on the night.
Day before
- · Buy cheese, fish, fruit and ice.
- · Make chocolate pots, devilled egg filling and a batched cocktail.
Day of
- · Chill sparkling wine in the fridge from the morning, in ice from 10 pm.
- · Put out olives, boards and cold bites at the start.
New Year's Day
- · Recycle bottles and return borrowed glasses.
- · Make a simple late breakfast from the leftovers.
Other sizes
New Year's Eve for more or fewer
Questions hosts ask
How much food for a New Year's Eve party for 20?
About 7.25 lb of finished food, or 161 g a guest across 5 dishes. The amounts are sized by the planning engine and include a small margin.
Should a New Year's Eve party for 20 be a buffet or a sit-down meal?
It usually runs cocktail-style: guests help themselves, so not everyone needs a chair at once. Still count the seats you have; the planner never assumes them.
How many drinks for a New Year's Eve party for 20?
About 112 drinks across the party, including alcohol-free ones, and 45 lb of ice.
How far ahead should I start planning?
Start 4 weeks before: send invitations early; people make New Year's plans in November, and plan bites that arrive in two waves: early evening and around eleven.
What does a New Year's Eve party for 20 cost?
The food in this plan comes to roughly $362, about $18 a guest. That is a planning estimate from typical US supermarket costs, not a price for your shop.
Plan my New Year's Eve for 20
Tell us about your kitchen, your seats and anyone's food needs, and the menu, shopping list and timeline redraw around them.
Start planning