A candy bar is the perfect way to make a statement and wow guests at any event. From baby and bridal showers to weddings, birthday parties, and holidays with friends and families, a candy bar is a surefire way to add a special touch.
If you are looking to make your own candy bar for parties, it’s a lot simpler than you might think! At Deborah Miller Catering, we have lots of candy buffet ideas and candy table decorations to help you make your own candy bar. Take a look at our candy buffet ideas to get started.
Make your Own Candy Bar: Calculating Candy for Candy Buffet
The first step in planning your candy buffet is picking out the candy for your candy buffet. You’ll want to figure out how much candy you really need for your event. We recommend calculating a ½ lbs. of candy per guest. Therefore, if you are expecting 50 people, you’ll want 25 pounds of candy. From here, you can start calculating how many types of candy you’ll need. For large events like weddings and black-tie galas, you’ll want to have about 10 different types of candy. For smaller events like baby showers and birthday parties, 5-8 types of candy should suffice.
What Type of Candy Should I Get For My Candy Buffet?
If you’re struggling to pick out the type of candy you should get for your candy buffet, we recommend putting your guests first and thinking about what they will like.
Parties with primarily adults in attendance like bridal showers and weddings can have more sophisticated choices that correlate with a specific color theme. For example, choose school colors for graduation parties or candies that match the bride and groom’s wedding colors for bridal showers and weddings. Baby showers can have fun pink or blue candies for whether it’s a girl or boy and holiday parties can have candy buffets with candy that are inspired by the holiday colors. Or, cheer for your favorite team by putting together a candy buffet in an array of your team’s colors. The possibilities are truly endless. If you are opting for a colorful theme, just be sure to vary the shapes, sizes, and flavors to add an interesting element. For seniors, you might want to opt for nostalgic candies like butterscotches and old-fashioned candy sticks.
For children’s parties, you can find fun lollipops or include fun character themed candies like princesses, superheroes, or cartoons. Children tend to love gummi bears, sour candies, candy necklaces, and jawbreakers, so you can get creative with candy buffets for kids. Plus, kid parties can generally be more colorful than adults only parties.
Some of our favorite candy for candy buffets are mints, sour candies, gummies, hard candies, taffies, Hershey’s Kisses, candy corn, jelly beans, junior mints, and Reese’s pieces. And, you don’t have to limit your candy buffet to just candy! Offer a variety of sweets like cupcakes, cookies, and cake pops. There truly are no rules when it comes to designing your custom candy bar for your next event!
How to Display Candy on your Candy Bar for Parties
One of the key factors to arranging a beautiful candy buffet is figuring out how you will display candies at your party. We recommend using tall vessels, jars, small bowls, and trays to arrange candy on many different levels. You can use a tiered stand like a cake or cupcake stand to arrange cake pops and larger candies, while tall vessels and jars hold smaller candies like M&M’s, Jordan almonds, and gum balls. For bulk candies without wrappers, you’ll want to make sure you have a large serving spoon or scooper to allow guests to get candies with ease.
Arranging your Candy Buffet Table
When it comes to arranging your candy on the buffet table, you’ll want to strategically place candy so that it is easy to reach. Before you begin to arrange the candy buffet jars on the table, lay down a beautiful table cloth that matches your theme.
Elevate the candy on the back of the table with cake stands or use taller containers. Don’t use bulk candy containers in the back of the table since it is difficult to scoop the candy in the back. Place apothecary jars, small baskets and candy dishes in the middle of the table and place bulk candies towards the front of the table so that they are easy for guests to access. The front of the table should be reserved for short containers, trays, and decorative boxes. Leave a spot for bags or boxes near the front of the table as well as a marker so guests can write their name!
Candy Buffet Ideas & Candy Table Decorations
Once your vessels, jars, and trays are placed on the table, you can start to fill in the details with candy table decorations. Add in decorations to blank spaces with framed pictures, printable signs, flowers, and garlands. You can create a backdrop for your candy buffet with ribbons, fabric, bows, and streamers. Try and match the rest of the event’s décor by pulling in some of the same pieces from the event’s centerpiece. Enhance your candy bar with other elements like balloons, flowers, signs, and labels for to make the table come to life.
Create a Beautiful Candy Buffet with Deborah Miller Catering
If you are looking to make a statement at your next event, allow Deborah Miller Catering to help. Our team can create a beautiful candy buffet that looks as good as its tastes! We can assist with your event’s catering menu, table decorations, and bring your vision to life. As a leader in the New York City catering industry, we will wow your guests and make your event sparkle. Get in touch with us today to learn more about our candy buffets and catering.
