Many people love entertaining and if you have young children, it seems like parties at home are becoming an ever-more common occurrence. Booking venues for events can be expensive, especially when you factor in food, not to mention that you’re often time-limited, and the food may be primarily beige and leave more than a little to be desired. Plus, if the event or occasion is for one of your children, it’s often in a highly child-focused venue and there’s much less opportunity for the adults to interact.

However, catering for a number of people can involve quite a lot of work and preparation, so increasingly people are turning to professional outside caterers to assist. This can then leave you free to enjoy the party, without having spent days prior cooking up pots of food or making and slicing sandwiches.

You may think that it sounds expensive, but it can be surprisingly cost-effective, especially when you factor in the time you’re saving. Most caterers offer a range of options to suit all budgets, on a price-per-head basis. I’d recommend only ordering food for 75% of attendees – as the allocation for each head is usually generous, this seems to be about the right level.