Hosting a crowd for fun and games? Don’t let your guests go hungry. Choose from any of these budget-friendly game night snacks and dinner ideas.
Want to save this post?
Enter your email below and get it sent straight to your inbox. Plus, I’ll send you budget recipes and money-saving tips every week!
Our family hosts a monthly Open Game Night for our kids’ high school, college, and young adult friends. The ages range from 16 to late 20s and it’s always a fun night.
As the hostess and mom, I’ve really enjoyed the chance to get to know my kids’ friends and to extend hospitality to the younger generation. If you’ve only heard bad stuff about “kids today,” then it’s time to rethink some things. It’s been such a pleasure to host these young people on a regular basis.
For over a year now, hosting a game night each month has been a highlight. At first we served game night snacks, but quickly decided that serving a game night dinner was better for our guests.
The basic steps include:
- I create a Canva graphic with the details of game night as well as a menu.
- The kids issue invitations via text.
- I spend the coming weeks tracking sales and clearance to match my menu’s theme.
- The week of game night, the kids check in with their friends and give me a rough headcount of RSVPs.
- The day of, we clean the house and prep the food.
- We set up tables and chairs and open our home.
You can get more of the details of Hosting a Game Night over on Life as Mom. We’re here for the food.
Game Night Snacks or Game Night Dinner?
Choosing between game night snacks or game night dinner is a personal choice.
We ended up deciding on dinner because it fit better into the time frame we wanted to host and turned out to be a better option for our guests, many of whom are busy students and/or living on tight budgets.
Tips for Success
We’ve been doing this for close to 18 months now. With trial and error, I’m figuring out what works best for game night snacks and dinners.
- Plan ahead so you can scan sales and clearance for good deals.
- Make freezer-friendly foods if you can.
- Check your paper goods in advance so you’re not running out at the last minute for cups and napkins.
- Lay out sharpies next to the cups so that folks can keep track of their drinks. (This is Hostessing for Kids 101)
- Purchase a big water dispenser so that you’re not fussing with drinks or long lines at the fridge. You’ll be surprised how much water kids will drink! We go through three gallons of water easily.
- Many of these kitchen tools have come in handy.
- Be mindful of food allergies. My daughter has a severe nut allergy as do some of our regular guests. Since I’m vigilant about nut safety, I do all the cooking and vet foods that folks bring to contribute. (I know it seems uptight, but I’d rather not call 911 on Game Night.)
- Offer an easy dessert such as cookies or cupcakes so that there’s little mess and no need for plates, etc.
Themes for Game Night Food
Each month I choose a theme. Some of the game night dinner themes we’ve used before include:
Quesadilla Bar
I laid out lots of tortillas and bowls of cheese as well as fillings and toppings. I loved this idea, but it took way too long for everyone to assemble and cook his quesadillas.
It could work for a smaller crowd, but it’s not conducive to a game night with a lot of people when you want to get playing.
Taco Bar
I made several different taco fillings and laid out an assortment of toppings and bases. I recommend keeping things simple by limiting yourself to 1-2 proteins and 1-2 bases. It’s easy to go overboard with a taco bar.
Soup Night
I served a couple of different soups, plus bread and butter. Unfortunately, we had a smaller crowd that month and lots of leftover soup.
One of the lessons I learned was to make sure I make foods that you don’t mind having for days later or that can freeze well.
Grilled Cheese Bar
Similar to the quesadilla bar, a grilled cheese was a good concept in theory but broke down when it came time to cook everyone’s sandwich. I was basically cooking to order which can become excessive for 30-40 people.
Again, make this for a smaller crowd.
Snacky Dinner
A snacky dinner is delicious and fun to prep, but it can be hard to gauge how much you will need of each item. Have some backup items in the fridge in case you run out and replenish as needed.
Pasta Bar
This is by far the easiest and actually the most popular of the options I have served, and one I will have on repeat from now on. I make a number of pasta-based casseroles, like lasagna or Chicken Florentine Casserole, plus salad and bread.
Casseroles for Days
I plan to repeat the casserole theme for future Game Nights. We’ll be making and freezing Shepherd’s Pie for St Patrick’s Day and I’m counting on several pans of enchiladas in May.
Grilling in Summer
Summer game nights lend themselves to grilling whatever budget proteins I can find and making big batches of summer salads, such as:
Friendsgiving
In November, we hosted Friendsgiving. I used Signup.com to coordinate the food, and the kids really came together. We had our biggest turnout over all with over 40 people in attendance.
We’ll definitely be doing this again.
Game Night Snacks Recipes
If you don’t need or want to serve a full dinner, game night snacks are the way to go. Choose items that are easy to scale for your crowd and make sure you have some that can stay at room temperature for the evening.
Also, choose foods that are easy to eat without interfering with game play.
I recommend any and all of these game night snacks recipes:
This Spicy Chicken Dip is out of this world. Creamy, cheesy, spicy, and full of tender chicken pieces, this dip will please kids and adults alike.
This Jalapeno Cream Cheese Dip is packed with flavor from jalapeno, bell pepper, garlic, and onion, as well as creaminess from cream cheese, sour cream, and cheddar. It’s perfect for dipping!
Chips and salsa are always a crowd pleaser. But, what if you made your own salsa? This Super Easy Homemade Salsa will make you the hit of the party!
This recipe will help you make Sour Cream Onion Dip easy and without any packaged soup mix. It’s perfect for snacking!
Purchased vegetable trays are convenient, but they can be costly. Here’s all you need to create a super easy veggie tray and save money.
A relish tray is a great dish to add to the appetizer or dinner table. It is super simple and totally affordable to make with select veggies, olives, and pickles.
Host a party or even a casual meal with friends and serve Homemade Meat and Cheese Platters can make the meal so easy and cheap!
Let your slow cooker do the work with an easy sweet and sour pulled chicken filling perfect for sandwiches and wraps. This simple crockpot recipe will save you time and money!
Come home to an easy supper: hot Ham and Swiss Sliders! Not only do they taste fabulous, but they’re also freezer-friendly.
Make takeout for cheap at home with these easy slow cooked, sweet and sour meatballs. The sauce cooks in the slow cooker and mimics the flavor of restaurant Chinese food.
Whip up an easy butterhorn dough for delicious pigs in blankets, a little more homemade.
Vietnamese summer rolls are refreshing and fun to eat. Seasoned chicken, veggies, and rice noodles are tucked into rice paper rounds for a delicious appetizer or light main dish.
Samosa Cups are crunchy little bundles of seasoned ground meat, onions, and African spices. They are a delicious shortcut to traditional samosa.
This Cucumber and Cream Cheese Sandwiches recipe is super simple with just a few ingredients: sandwich bread, English cucumbers, cream cheese, chives, and Everything Seasoning.
Don’t forget to include some easy desserts for game night!
Game Night Desserts
Tell us what you think!
We love to hear your experiences with Good Cheap Eats. Click the STARS on the recipe card or leave a STARRED comment to let us know what you think of the recipe.
