Throwing a First Communion Party

Chicken salad on croissants
Mixed fruit (or do on kebobs)
Chips
Dip
Broccoli salad

For my son's confirmation I did a chicken pasta, Ceasar salad, dinner rolls, deviled eggs (his favorite), spinach dip with Hawaiian bread, fruit and cake

Taco bar is good and people can help themselves
Spanish rice
Guacamole
Salsa
Chips
Fruit

Check out your local deli and see what they offer in sandwich platters, antipasto platters, salads, and more for parties. They should have a menu specifically for parties and you can place an order ahead of time. If they're anything like my deli, you can sample everything ahead of time.

Big sandwich rings, cocktail meatballs (crockpot or roaster pan), some type of pasta ( warming trays), cold or hot fried chicken (order from somewhere), large green salad (replenish a large bowl on ice).
I'd order what I could (not catered but easier) like the pasta, a restaurant sized salad tray, sandwiches and the chicken.
I have "go to" places for all that stuff, so instead of making giant meals, For some occasions, I make O. trip with a circle of stops. Works out really well. Less stressful when you want to concentrate on the event, not the food.
And of course, dont forget the cake!

For my oldest son's First Communion party it was lunch time, and we had Mexican food like others have mentioned - chips, queso, hot sauce, guacamole, tamales (my parents own a tamale company), fajitas, etc. It was easy, cheap, and delicious!

For our youngest son's First Communion party, it was earlier, so we had lots of fruit, breakfast casseroles, quiches, muffins, and donuts. It was also fabulous!

Congratulations, and have a wonderful time! :)

BBQ Brisket, sausage, Potato salad, Baked Beans, green salad, bread, and cobbler for dessert.

Or Ham, Potatoes, Green salad, Mixed veggies, Rolls, and a cake..

Sliced meat and cheese trays, rolls, chips, fruit salad, and cake..

Smoked Turkey, Potatoes, Green beans, Salad and Dessert..

The menu for my son's party last year is below. We had people trickle in over a few hours. The hot items were kept warm in the buffet line with sterno.

- Assorted chicken wings
- Veggie crudite with dip
- Fruit, cheese and cracker trays
- Chips and salsa, chips and dip

- Baked ham with pineapple (I baked it the day before, sliced it, and put it in a pan over a chafing dish and sterno to keep warm)
- Ziti, chicken and broccoli from a local restaurant
- Meatballs in sauce with rolls and Provolone on the side
- Roasted potatoes
- Roasted veggies
- Salad
- Rosemary and sea salt dinner rolls

- Assorted desserts
- First Communion cake

For other large parties I've done a deli platter or two, a tray of "salad" sandwiches (tuna, seafood, chicken, ham), a pan of baked ziti or a lasagne, super-size subs cut into small slices, calzones or a crock pot of pulled pork.

What helped me most last year was that I planned a timeline down the minute of what needed to be done when. I was able to print and post this on my fridge and as my useful family members wandered in and asked what to do, I pointed them to the list and asked that they take the next item.

Grocery stores and Costco-type stores have lots of finger foods in the frozen section and usually they are very good: Miniature quiches of all types, miniature taquitos (a Mexican food), little pastries full of meats or cheeses, mini cream puffs and even mini cheesecakes....If you are not a Costco or buying club member (we are not), these things are also sold now in many grocery stores. These would be good additions to the many foods suggested below like getting a pre-cooked and pre-sliced whole ham or roast beef....
Don't forget plenty of raw veggie platter and cut fruit platters for those wanting to have less meat and stuff that's less filling than quiches etc.
Also, if folks might come and go over a longer period of time -- think about getting some disposable (or even reusable if you like) serving trays with "sterno" heating underneath, to keep hot foods hot if serve hot stuff. You can put cold stuff on a platter and rest the platter on a bed of ice in an attractive bowl or on a platter with a rim.

Eighty year olds eat just about anything. Meatballs, turkey (or favorite meat) and cheese wraps, a bowl of salad, cheese and crackers, chicken wings, beef or pork BBQ pull with some rolls. Whatever you want. Costco will be your best friend.

For my daughters graduation, I had all family over and I served rice and roast, with a side of chicken wings. I sliced 3 roast beefs and set them on a platter.

thank you for bringing back wonderful memories! With my older son, I was 6 months pregnant with my younger son. I worked so hard on the food prep with my M. that I had labor pains from that point on! My sis was 7 months pregnant, & since my DH has a beer belly....we have pics of them comparing bellies! All smiles here :)

Menu: it was my best....most complimented...menu ever. We ordered fried chicken to make it easier for me. My M. drove out for the weekend & we cooked/baked for hours! 99% of our family lives 2+/- hours away from us....so we knew we needed to have munchies ready when they pulled off the road before heading to Mass. Otherwise they'd be starving before our Family Meal!

Before Mass, I served vegies/dip & a few other munchies. The Catholics did not eat before Mass, but everybody else chowed down.
Menu: the fried chicken
a crockpot of fresh, seasoned green beans
fresh corn relish (Silver Dollar City recipe)
jalapeno-pickled vegie hot mix (another Silver Dollar City recipe)
a loaded lemon pasta salad....it had 7 or 8 ingredients in it!
another crockpot full of garlic spaghetti (YUM)
fresh breads baked by my MIL
& a wonderful fresh fruit salad.

My ILs have the same menu over & over. 30+ years now. My family loves trying new dishes. For this menu, I went all out on expanding everybody's palate. The lemon added to the pasta salad was excellent! My garlic spaghetti (over geriatric mostaccioli) just disappeared. & the corn relish & jalapeno vegie hot mix were new for all of us. Big, big hits!

Oh, & we had 2 kinds of cakes in addition to the sheet cake. All 50+ guests had dessert, & then seconds....on top of that huge meal! The meal was served buffet-style. My DH picked up the chicken after Mass, & while he ran to do that....I had time to set out the bowls & bowls of food. No cooking had to be done that morning, except loading the crockpots. :) Blessings to you & your family...what a wonderful time!

I had an open house for my daughter's First Communion. I used Buona instead of trying to do the cooking myself. They brought all the chafing dishes and utensils and set it up. Then people could help themselves whenever they wanted and I was free to circulate. I've done parties where I've done the cooking but alway found myself in the kitchen heating things up or pulling things out. The price was good and the food was great. I was able to chose what I wanted rather than a packaged plan. I then added a couple of salads that I prepared.

If you are doing it yourself, make sure that you can keep hot food hot and cold stuff cold all day otherwise it doesn't look too good. You can get disposable chafing dishes at Costco in the papergoods aisle which helps with the hot items. I'd check out Costco's frozen and ready made foods, they usually have a good selection that would work for a party. I'd love to suggest a menu but I've done eveything from mini sandwiches to lasgna to mexican. Everything can work.

In similar circumstances, we ordered finger sandwiches, veggie tray, fruit bowl, etc. from a local grocery store and a cake from Costco. Great food, great party and I didn't have to worry about anything.

Pasta always worked because it's one of those things where you can eat it hot or at room temp and in some cases cold as in a salad..
Grilled chicken/chops has also worked for us..
Fruit Salad and or green...
Wraps<< because those you can def make ahead of time and cover..
Tamales
Lumpia << always a big hit
I would just mix it up ...
Antipasto trays.. (know what's goes with those are the tdr joes pita crackers!

have fun with it!