Dinner Party Planner and Cost Sheet

Who this is for

A whole dinner party, planned and costed. Guests and what they can eat sit at the top, the menu and its shopping list with costs in the middle, and the timeline for the day at the bottom. The summary adds up the shopping and divides it by the number at the table.

Home hosts planning a birthday, a family meal or a dinner for friends, and anyone who wants to know what the evening actually cost before the next invitation goes out.

What this helps you track

• Who is coming, what they cannot eat and whether they have confirmed
• Each course and dish, with the ingredients still to buy
• The estimated cost of the shopping and the cost per head
• Which dishes can be made the day before
• A timeline for the day so nothing is started too late

How to use it

1. Write the date, time, occasion, host and the number of guests at the top.
2. List the guests with their dietary needs and drinks preferences, and tick each one as they confirm.
3. Plan the menu course by course, writing the ingredients you still need to buy with a quantity and your own estimated cost.
4. Tick the dishes that can be made ahead; the summary counts them so you can see how much of the cooking moves to the day before.
5. The totals and cost per head are worked out in the browser and the workbook; on paper, add the cost column and divide by the guests.
6. Fill the timeline backwards from when you plan to sit down, and tick each task off on the day.

Formats

• Printable PDF (A4 and US Letter)
• Fillable PDF with form fields
• Fill in online, saved in your browser
• Excel / Google Sheets workbook

The printable is laid out inside a box that fits both A4 and US Letter, so the two files are identical and neither one is scaled. The fillable PDF has real form fields. The workbook uses plain formulas only — SUM, IF, COUNTIF and the like — so it opens in Excel, LibreOffice and Google Sheets without anything breaking, and every calculated cell is grey so you can see which figures it worked out.

How to print

Download the A4 or US Letter file to match the paper in your printer, open it in a PDF reader and print at 100% — not "fit to page", which shrinks the writing space. Both files leave a 14 mm margin, which clears the unprintable edge on home printers. To print the online version with your entries in it, use the Print this sheet button, which prints only the sheet and none of the page around it. More on printing.

Questions

How is the cost per head worked out?

It is the total of the estimated cost column divided by the number of guests you enter at the top. Whether the host counts as a guest is up to you; change the number and the figure follows.

Should drinks go in the cost?

If you are buying them, yes — add a line in the menu table with course set to Drinks. If guests are bringing a bottle, leave it out and note it against their name instead.

Where do I record allergies?

In the dietary needs column next to each guest. Check the menu against that column before shopping, and read the labels of anything bought ready-made, as recipes and ingredients change.

What about a bigger gathering?

The browser version lets you add rows to every table. For large numbers, the cooking for a crowd quantity calculator helps scale the dishes before you cost them here.