This is a free holiday party catering quote template built for the cocktail-format event: passed hors d'oeuvres and stationed appetizers per guest, bar packages from full to mocktail, staffing priced people-times-hours, and the rentals and décor that turn a conference room into a party the company photographs. Load it in the builder, set the headcount, and price the rest. It works for any cocktail reception; December just books it hardest.
Cocktail-format quotes have their own math: pieces per person. A cocktail hour before dinner plans four to six pieces per guest; a party where the apps are dinner plans twelve to eighteen, and the quote that doesn't know the difference feeds sixty people on forty people's food. The per-guest menu lines carry that planning, and the bar section keeps packages separate from bartender hours, because the client buys drinks per person and you schedule staff per hour.
Every section below loads into the builder exactly as listed. This is the actual checklist, not a preview of one. Delete what your job doesn’t need and price the rest.
Passed and stationed apps per guest with the pieces-per-person plan in the line name, the buffet for parties that graduate to dinner, dessert, and the late-night snack.
Per person. Cocktail-only events: plan 12–18 pieces per guest.
Bar packages per guest from full to mocktail, the signature cocktail, and bartenders priced by the hour, separate from the drinks.
Servers priced people-times-hours, the event captain, and the coat-check attendant winter parties actually need.
Unit: hour. Quantity = staff count, multiplier = hours.
High-tops and linens, glassware per guest, the décor package, and event lighting: the difference between a party and a meeting with food.
Delivery and setup, breakdown and cleanup, and staff gratuity as its own visible line, separate from the service charge.
Open it in the builder and the party is already structured: apps per guest, bar packages, staffing, rentals and décor, logistics. Delete what this event doesn't need. A beer-and-apps office party is four lines, quoted before the calendar invite goes out.
Set the guest count and your per-guest rates; bartenders and servers price people-times-hours. The P&L updates while you type, so the open bar stays a revenue line instead of a rumor.
Export a clean client quote: menu, bar, headcount, one total. It's generated from a copy that never held your costs, margins, or internal notes, so there is nothing in the file to scrub and nothing for the office manager to find.
The full guide (units, tax math, deposits, exports) lives on the Help page. It’s genuinely thorough. We’re as surprised as you.
Five sections: menu and food per guest (passed hors d'oeuvres, stationed appetizers, buffet dinner, dessert display, the late-night snack), bar and beverage (full bar, beer and wine, signature cocktail, NA package, bartenders by the hour), staffing priced people-times-hours including coat check, rentals and décor, and logistics ending with a visible staff gratuity line. It covers any cocktail reception; the décor line just works harder in December.
Holiday office parties commonly run $35 to $80 per person, with hors d'oeuvres receptions at $30 to $70 and light-bites formats at $10 to $25. A casual hundred-person party lands near $2,000 while a formal one runs closer to $4,000, and a 75-person party with a premium buffet and full bar can reach $5,000. Budget guidance clients never hear: add 20 to 30 percent over the food number for service fees, gratuity, and tax, which this quote shows instead of springing.
Depends what the apps are doing. Four to six pieces per guest covers a cocktail hour before dinner; eight to ten covers a reception with heavy stations; twelve to eighteen pieces per guest is the number when the appetizers are the dinner. The per-guest menu lines carry whichever plan you quote, and writing the assumption into the line name settles the where-did-the-food-go conversation before it happens.
Yes, genuinely. The builder runs without an account, and the free plan includes every export: client PDF, Excel, CSV, an internal budget export, and a read-only share link that carries a client-safe copy inside the link itself. A free account adds one cloud-saved estimate. Pro is a one-time purchase, not a subscription: your branding on client exports, no Estimatery footer, unlimited cloud saves, and a Saved Items catalog for the party menus you re-quote every December.
Boxed lunches through plated dinners, delivery to staffed.
Per-guest menu, bar, staffing, rentals, and logistics.
Event packages with minimum guarantees and service windows.