First birthday party menu

[Candy]

I need some help and suggestions from you gals. DD's 1st b-day is next month and I can't decide on a menu. We are having her party at a nearby park. I rented the pavillion there. We live in FL, so it's warm here. We are expecting about 20-50 adults and 15-30 kids. I originally thought we'd get subs or pizza, but that will get quite expensive. I've decided to make all of the food & have family members help out with some dishes.
I have some ideas, but need a lot more. Should I do all finger foods or actual meal? It's from 2-5PM.

TIA!

Candy

I'm going to cross post this in the parenting section.

[Chimichanga]

I would do an actual meal. Personally, I like to have the food option and while it's a little late for lunch, you're also heading to an early dinner.

You could make a large pan of pasta (mostacholli or lasagna would work). Make it the night before, put it in the fridge and then use steno candles to reheat (or pop it in the oven before you leave to warm it up and use the candles to maintain).

My family often does pasta of some sort. Also, fried chicken can be pretty inexpensive. Especially when you consider that half of your guests are going to be children and they will eat small things like legs and wings.

Those two dishes can really fill people up. And if you pair it with things like potato salad, pasta salad, chips and dip, etc - you've really got a good meal going for minimal costs. :)

[jarm]

You could try to do cold cuts...just put them over a bowl of ice. Our local park has a grill, so I don't know if that's an option for you...you could do hot dogs and hamburgs.