Party planner: one shopping list for the whole party

Enter your guest count and how long the party lasts to get a single list of the drinks, ice, mixers, food and supplies to buy, with every quantity rounded up. Switch off what you don't need, fine-tune the rest, then print the list or share the link.

Assumptions

The calculator uses these common rules of thumb. Change the inputs above to fit your guests.

Drinks: Drinks per drinking guest	2 in the first hour, then 1 per hour
Drinks: Drinking level	light ×0.75, average ×1, heavy ×1.25
Drinks: Full bar	50% wine, 30% beer, 20% liquor
Drinks: Beer and wine	60% wine, 40% beer
Drinks: Wine only	100% wine
Drinks: Signature cocktail	40% wine, 30% beer, 30% cocktails (1.5 oz liquor each)
Drinks: Wine	750 ml bottle = 5 glasses of 5 oz (148 ml)
Drinks: Beer	one 355 ml can per drink
Drinks: Liquor	750 ml bottle = 16 drinks of 1.5 oz (44 ml); 1.75 L bottle = 39
Drinks: Champagne toast	750 ml bottle = 8 toasts of 3 oz (89 ml), one toast per guest
Drinks: Kegs (12 oz pours)	half 165, quarter 82, sixth 55
Ice: Ice per guest	1 lb (0.45 kg) indoors, 2 lb (0.91 kg) outdoors or in hot weather, for up to 4 hours
Ice: Longer events	the guest ice scales with the hours ÷ 4; events shorter than 4 hours count as 4
Ice: Chilling drinks	10 lb (4.54 kg) of ice for each cooler of drinks
Ice: Bags	10 lb bags
Ice: Weights	1 kg = 2.2 lb; each weight is rounded up separately
Mixers	8 mixed drinks per liter of soda, tonic, juice or other mixer
Mixers: Garnish	one lime and one lemon for every 8 mixed drinks, cut into wedges and slices
Mixers: Mixed drinks	the share of liquor drinks served with a mixer; the rest are neat or on the rocks
Food: Appetizers and dinner	5 pieces, 6 oz cooked protein, 2 side dishes of 4 oz, 1.5 rolls and 1 dessert per guest
Food: Buffet	3 pieces, 8 oz cooked protein, 3 side dishes of 4 oz, 2 rolls and 1 dessert per guest
Food: Appetizers only	5 pieces per guest per hour, kept between 10 and 15 per guest, plus 1 dessert per guest
Food: Hours	only used for appetizers-only events; a dinner or buffet has a fixed cocktail hour
Food: Weights	protein is cooked weight; 1 kg = 2.2 lb; each weight is rounded up separately
Supplies: Cups	one for every 2 drinks, and at least 2 per guest
Supplies: Plates and cutlery	one plate and one set (a fork and a knife) per guest for each course
Supplies: Napkins	3 per guest, plus 1 per guest for each course
Supplies: Trash bags	one for every 20 guests, and at least one
Buffer	+10% on every quantity when switched on. It is applied once: mixers follow the buffered liquor drinks and are not buffered again, and the one-bag trash minimum is not buffered
Rounding	every quantity is rounded up

How we calculate

Every section runs the same method as its own calculator, from one set of inputs, so the list always agrees with the single-purpose pages.

Drinks. Drinking guests × drinks each (two in the first hour, then one for every hour after that, scaled for light or heavy drinkers), split between wine, beer and liquor by the bar type, then divided by the servings in one bottle or can and rounded up. A champagne toast adds a bottle for every 8 guests.
Ice. 1 lb a guest indoors or 2 lb outdoors, for up to 4 hours, scaled up for longer parties, plus 10 lb for each cooler of drinks, divided into bags for your region.
Mixers and garnish. The liquor drinks from the drinks section × the share served with a mixer (80%) ÷ 8 mixed drinks to the liter, plus one lime and one lemon for every 8 mixed drinks.
Food. Appetizers, cooked protein, side dishes, rolls and desserts for each guest, by meal type: appetizers only, appetizers and dinner, or a buffet.
Supplies. Cups at one cup for every 2 drinks and at least 2 for each guest, a plate and a set of cutlery for every guest at each course, napkins, and a trash bag for every 20 guests.
The buffer. Every quantity gets plus 10% if you switch on the buffer, and is rounded up. It is applied once: the mixers are worked out from the already buffered liquor drinks, and the cups from the drinks per guest before any buffer, so nothing is buffered twice.

Worked example: 100 guests, 4 hours

With the default inputs (100 guests, a 4-hour indoor party with a full bar, appetizers and dinner, two courses and US sizes) the list comes to:

Drinks: 38 bottles of wine, 113 cans of beer and 5 bottles of liquor.
Ice: 10 bags, which is 100 lb in 10 lb bags.
Mixers and garnish: 8 L of mixers, 8 limes and 8 lemons.
Food: 500 pieces of appetizers, 38 lb of cooked protein, 200 servings of sides, 150 rolls and 100 desserts.
Supplies: 200 cups, 200 plates, 500 napkins, 200 sets of cutlery and 5 bags for the trash.

Change the inputs and the whole list moves with them:

Add a champagne toast and the drinks gain 13 bottles of champagne.
Switch to United Kingdom sizes and the ice becomes 23 bags of 2 kg, with 18 kg of cooked protein.
Switch on the 10% buffer and the cups rise from 200 to 220, and the ice from 100 lb to 110 lb.

Questions

What does the party planner cover?

Five things a host usually has to buy: drinks (wine, beer, liquor and, if you want one, a champagne toast), ice, mixers and garnish, food, and the cups, plates, napkins, cutlery and trash bags to serve it. Cake, seating and budget have their own calculators, linked below.

Why did the mixers disappear when I switched the drinks off?

The mixers are worked out from the number of liquor drinks, so there is nothing to mix without the drinks section. Your Mixers choice is kept: switch the drinks back on and the mixers return to the list.

Is the buffer added twice?

No. The buffer is added once to each quantity. The mixers start from the liquor drinks after the buffer, and the cups start from your drinks per guest before it, so a 10% buffer means about 10% more, not 21%.

How do I print the list for the shop?

Press Print under the list. The form drops away and each item prints on its own line with an empty box to tick, grouped by section, with the bottle, can or bag size beside it, followed by the assumptions behind the numbers.

Can I share my list?

Yes. Copy link puts your guest count, choices and region in the web address, so anyone who opens it sees the same list.

How is this different from the single calculators?

The planner shows one line for each thing to buy. The single calculators show more detail: wine glasses and beer on tap on the drinks pages, the ice for guests and for chilling on the ice page, and the choice of cake or table sizes. Use the planner to build the list and the others to dig into one part of it.

What to buy

Drinks

Ice

Mixers and garnish

Food

Supplies