Boston Bar Mitzvah Catering - affordable yet fun!
I’m not sure why, but bar mitzvahs are some of my favorite events to plan. Maybe, since I didn’t grow up with brothers, I have more of a penchant for planning boys' parties, bar mitzvahs, over girls' celebrations or bas mitzvahs.
My first catering sales position in the Boston area was back in the 1980s at a place called Dunphey’s in Lexington, Massachusetts. They hosted almost 40 bar mitzvahs each year. Pretty good for a place with only one event space (that’s almost one a week). Perhaps now that I have two boys of my own I have a certain radar to the whole bar mitzvah scene but whatever it is, I have many things to say about hosting a bar or bas mitzvah in the Boston area.
There are so many things to think about… Friday night dinner, Kiddish after services on Shabbat, party for the kids, party for the adults, what about the out of town guests? Should I have a theme to reflect the personality of my child? What is too extravagant? What can I do that is different and unique? And how am I going to afford it all?
We hope the next few series of blogs will shed some light on some of these things and ways to save money without compromising on quality and or quantity.
Let's start at the beginning. Once you have the bar mitzvah date you want to think about the venue. This year a number of families hosted the parties at home, which, all told, has many advantages. Even in a small space, there are different places to hang out, so the pre-teens can run around, while the older people can talk to each other. We catered a bas mitzvah in a private home in Needham and transformed their combined dining/living room into two distinct spaces by creating a drop wall decorated with food held on by Velcro!
At another Newton bar mitzvah home party we transformed the garage into a diner complete with juke box with counters and stools. The kids made ice cream sundaes and our wait staff took their orders and served them.
Once you’ve decided on a home venue, you will need to find the caterer. Hopefully Broadway Gourmet will be your first choice among bar or bas mitzvah caterers. Once you start calling around to different caterers, asking the right questions will save you money and time. Stay tuned for our next blog where we'll give you some easy ways to save money on catering and offer other avenues to ensure a successful celebration without breaking the bank!