how much did it cost you to host the Purim seudah?

amother ↓

Mon, Mar 09 2009, 6:59 pm

How much did your seudah cost to make and for how many adults/children was that amount. Somehow I think I always overspend.
I think my suedah for 7 adults and 5 kids cost about $250 just for the food not including wine and spirits.

granolamom ↓

Mon, Mar 09 2009, 7:54 pm

we're having 4 adults, 4 kids
costing us less than $100. much less.
but we're having milchig. dh and I are mostly vegetarian, my kids rarely eat meat or chicken (they don't like it). our guests prefer milchig as well.
and I'm making everything from scratch so that keeps the cost down too.

↑ granolamom

Mon, Mar 09 2009, 8:07 pm

well, after years of throwing away tons of uneaten food, and having to feed hungry kids after cooking all day (and being hungry myself!), I no longer believe that a yontif sueda MUST be fleishig. Its plenty festive, and we have fish for those who are interested. everyone is happy and enjoys their food. we even :::::horrors!::::: have milchig meals on pesach and succos.

Marion

Mon, Mar 09 2009, 11:37 pm

I don't know. Everything I'm serving came out of the cupboard or freezer (ingredients). It's just me, DH, our 2 toddlers (3&1), and one guest. No wine to be served, unless you count the bottle that's already open in the fridge. Certainly nothing harder than that.

So, the minced turkey cost NIS 11, and that's probably the only thing I can accurately price. 2c grated carrots at 3.90/kg, celery & onion at around the same thing, 4 eggs at 22NIS/30 eggs...I'm really not going to start adding it up. But it's not much, in the grand scheme of things.

Mrs.K

Tue, Mar 10 2009, 3:31 am

Oy a ton. We are 15 people, 4 children, and many many others who will come in, grab a plate and a drink, and leave.

I really prefer not to think of the cost at all. I specifically told my husband when he came back from shopping not to show me any receipts.

I also try not to dwell on the thought of majority of the food coming right back up for majority of the guests. Not going to think about it...not going to think about it.....

alpidarkomama

Fri, Mar 13 2009, 2:16 am

We had 18 people and spent $40 (at most). Yes, it was meat. Friends brought wine. A turkey is cheap. So are beans (hummus, soup). So is flour (bread, pastries). So are eggs (quiche). So are vegetables (roasted veggies and cabbage salad). You don't have to spend much to have a terrific feast!!! $25 per person makes my jaw drop. Smile

chavamom ↓

Fri, Mar 13 2009, 2:29 am

I fed a small army (9 adults, 5 teens, 4 middle school age, 7 school age and 3 babies/toddlers) and I don't think I spent nearly $250. The most expensive thing was the meat and that was under $50. I made faux Chinese food. It's hard to figure out exactly what I spent ("how much is one red onion? How many sesame seeds did I use?") but unless you are starting from nothing and buying everything $250 sounds like a lot to me.

↑ chavamom ↓

Fri, Mar 13 2009, 2:35 am

In case you are wondering what I served -
Sushi salad (ok, not Chinese, but yummy)
Wontons
Terayki Chicken Strips
Fried Rice
Chinese veggies
Sesame noodles
Green Salad with candied almonds and strawberries
Homemade Strawberry Ice "Cream".

I bought a flat of berries and a large container of mixed lettuce at Sam's Club, Veggies for various dishes, "crab" for sushi salad, wonton wrappers and chicken. We bought two gallons of iced green tea and two bottles of soda for the kids - that was it. Doesn't sound like $250 to me.

RachelEve14 ↓

Fri, Mar 13 2009, 3:06 am

Chava, can I fly in next Purim? Sounds so yummy!!!!

We were out, we were asked to bring the pitot & laflin (I think that's what it's called, big flat bread). I think it cost about 40NIS

shalhevet

Fri, Mar 13 2009, 3:27 am

I think mine was about 200-300 shekels ($50-$70) for 4 adults and 6 children.

I bought chicken breasts for about 100 shekel (very extravagant, but there's left for Shabbos too), challa was 20, 3-4 bottles of soft drink another 20, 2 cans of mushrooms -10. The rest is hard to price - vegetables, rice, oil, beans, sugar etc.

I made:
vegetable and bean soup

chicken breasts on a bed of eggplant and vegetables
duchesse potatoes
brown rice with mushrooms
salad
chickpeas

star cookies with a lemon filling

morahmommy

Fri, Mar 13 2009, 10:11 am

I don't know how much I spent, but I can't believe you guys all just hosted seudahs without your guests bringing food- I guess if it's all immediate family- okay. We hosted a seudah and everyone we invited just called me and asked what they could make- much more financially manageable and it made the whole workload much easier on me. Each guy brought their own wine- we didn't ask them to, it was just assumed that they would.

louche

Fri, Mar 13 2009, 11:10 am

granolamom wrote:

I no longer believe that a yontif sueda MUST be fleishig. Its plenty festive, and we have fish for those who are interested. everyone is happy and enjoys their food. we even :::::horrors!::::: have milchig meals on pesach and succos.

aaaaawwwwwRIIIIIIIIIGGGGHHHHHTTTTT!!! Lets' hear it for Tevye the Milchiger!!! An inveterate lover of all things dairy, who never met an ice cream I didn't like, I vastly prefer milchik to fleishik and am psychologically uncomfortable being fleishik. (Fleishik lovers, don't give me that garbagio about pareve ice cream--IMO they all taste like soap, and anyway plastic is for shopping bags, not for dessert.) I get much more yomtovdik oneg from a nice broiled salmon than from chicken Kiev or a steak. After two fleishik meals in a row I'm starting to feel sluggish, and by the third I'm so fleishiked out I need two weeks to even hear the word "fleishik" without wincing.

↑ chavamom ↓

Fri, Mar 13 2009, 3:04 pm

Someone I know says the frum world is motivated by two fears "fleishaphobia" ("but then I'll be fleishig!") and "bentchaphobia" ("if I wash, I'll have to bentch!"). It's too much commitment! Louche, maybe you should start the "Fleishaphobia Anonymous" club. I"m sure you'd have plenty of business. LOL

greenfire ↓

Fri, Mar 13 2009, 3:22 pm

we got the seudah out of the way with breakfast ... try onion rolls, bagels, creamcheese, eggs, and cafe con leche ... guess what was for dessert - hamentashen all day long ... Drunken Smile