A few weeks ago, my husband mentioned he needed to host an event at his office.  He was the volunteer-chair for a local event and wanted to thank all of the volunteers by throwing a party.  I said, “Great!” and promptly forgot all about until last week, at which point I put off everything until the morning of the event.  I obviously wasn’t taking my own advice.

So there I was at 7 a.m. the morning of, trying to figure out how we were going to pull this off.  I knew at least 20 people were coming, and I wasn’t going to feed them frozen appetizers (although I knew I needed some store-bought items) or pay to have it catered.  There was only one option left: Costco.

Here is the menu I came up with:

Stuffed Mushrooms* from The Pioneer Woman

Cheese plate (Jarlsberg, Derby Sage, Sharp Cheddar and Colby Jack)

Charcuterie (prosciutto, salami and sausage)

Roasted Grape and Blue Cheese Bruschetta (I’ve made this one before!)

Caprese Skewers

Bacon Wrapped Dates

Olives

Hummus (store-bought)

Spinach Dip (store-bought)

Crackers and Pita

Wine and beer

Chocolate Chip Cookies and Coffee

With the help of an incredible husband and cooperative baby, we pulled this off in about 6 hours.  Not. to. shabby.

*A special note about the stuffed mushrooms.  I made them and then put them in a crock-pot on the “warm” setting.  It was the perfect way to keep them warm.  No one likes a cold stuffed mushroom!

What are your go-to last-minute party ideas or easy appetizers?