Summer Party Planning: How to Stay on Budget

Hosting any summer get-togethers? Making a budget (and sticking to it) can be hard when you don’t know exactly how much everyone will eat. But consider this your savvy cheat sheet. Figure each person will eat approximately this much of each of the following items:

Related: Cook Tasty Meals on a Budget

•  Burgers: 1 or 2 4-oz. patties, plus fixings (check out these delish DIY condiments!)
•  Hot Dogs: 1 or 2 2-oz. franks plus fixings
•  Potato Chips: 1 to 1 1/2 oz.
•  Lemonade: 2 8-oz. cups, more if it’s hot out
•  Fruit Salad: 1/2 cup
•  Green Salad: 1 cup
•  Bone-in Chicken: 8 to 12 oz.
•  Pasta Salad: 1/2 to 3/4 cup
•  Cookies: 2
•  Ice Cream: 1 cup
•  Soda or Beer: 2 12-oz. cans
•  Ice: 1/2 lb., plus whatever you’ll need to fill your coolers

(Source: All You magazine)