Bridal Shower Help

As a guest I would really appreciate the individual boxed lunches.

Normally it would be a few family members making the food and then having it on a table in dishes where people would go through and serve themselves so I guess it would be more buffet style than potluck which I know isn't favorable right now. I guess it's more so the way the food is put out that I'm looking for ideas on if that makes sense. I also feel like doing the boxed food would be more expensive as my sister is talking about getting them through a restaurant or caterer and I don't want it to become too expensive. My family said not to worry about the cost but I would feel better about it if we could find a more cost effective way of doing it.

Thank you for your input! I think it's just hard for me to visualize. All I keep picturing is brown bag lunches like when you would go on a field trip as a kid, even though I know it would not be like that.

Hahah i totally understand that. I assume it's being catered - when we order this kind of thing for events at work they almost always come in either nicer takeout type containers or the clear plastic clamshell containers that look pretty "put together". Often this type of catering can be cheaper if you do it through a local grocery store/deli rather than a restaurant. You could do cute chicken salad sandwiches, side salads, and chips or fruit or something like that and I don't think it would cost a ton!

Agree with this. She should be making all the decisions. You are the guest. The only you contribute is let her know what day you are available and a list of those who were invited to the wedding.

I think a big thing to keep in mind in terms of food is any allergies/sensitivities/preferences the other guests may have. That's where a buffet option has always appealed to me. I can eat seafood, but land and air meat makes me sick. If it's a buffet then I can choose larger portions of sides and still have a full meal when the proteins are chicken or tri tip so I can't have those. If I'm handed a box with a turkey sandwich and chips, all I can eat until I get home is chips. I've honestly lost track of the number of times I've been subjected to stuff like that, which can be really bad when my blood sugar drops. If I had known ahead of time what the meal would be, I could have brought some extra snacks for myself and been okay. So that being said, I would just make sure that things like that are taken care of. For example, if you're planning on getting sandwiches but one guest is gluten intolerant. could you maybe get a large salad for them instead? At the very least, they should be aware that the food being offered isn't something they're able to eat.

I really like your idea of individual portions being set out, but PPs are right - as the hostess, these decisions are up to your sister. She does need to know if there are dietary restrictions, but how the food is handled is up to her. Boxed lunches can look really nice, though, so I wouldn't worry about that too much.