Party Planning

Having a party? can take care of all your needs (well, most of them anyway), from afternoon Champagne through a five-course meal.

First, you'll need to determine the quantities you need. For beverages, you can use the estimator below. A safe bet is that most people drink about a drink per hour, tapering off if it's a long party.

To determine the mix you need, just keep in mind that each choice you offer means that you need to build in overkill in case everyone wants that particular choice. If you think you have an even split between wine and beer, buy enough wine for 60% of the crowd and enough beer for 60% of the crowd. This gives you 20% excess and a margin of safety.

The calculator below will give you the numbers you need to plan your party purchases, with the margin of safety built in:

Party Planning Calculator

How many guests will you be having?
About how many are non drinkers?
How long is the event (hours)?
Will you be offering mixed drinks? Yes No
If yes...  

What percentage of people will be drinking hard liquor? (if you have no idea, figure about a third).

 %
Are you offering both beer and wine? Yes No
If yes...  

What do you think will be the split between beer and wine? (if you have no idea, assume 50/50. Skew toward beer for twenty-somethings.)

 Beer/Wine
What do you think will be the split between red and white wine? (if you have no idea, assume 50/50. If it's summertime, skew towards whites.) Red/White
 

Results

Soda and seltzer: 750 ml bottles
Beer: cases
(remember, if you offer more than one choice of beer, buy a little extra!)
If no champagne for bar:  
White wine: 750 ml bottles
(remember, if you offer more than one white, buy a little extra!)
Red wine: 750 ml bottles
(remember, if you offer more than one red, buy a little extra!)
Champagne for toast only: 750 ml bottles
If champagne is served at the bar (assumes 1/3 of white wine drinkers will drink champagne)
White wine: 750 ml bottles
Champagne: 750 ml bottles
Red wine: 750 ml bottles