Holiday meals average about $35 per person

“We’ve seen major increases in Christmas and Hanukkah catering over the last few years. For young people who have major commitments to their careers, doing an entire holiday celebration can be very daunting. They look at the cost, including their time, and realize that the price of a great catered affair isn’t far off the mark,” says Vaz. Full-service companies like ZB Catering handle every aspect of the meal. “We can supply everything, including tables, chairs, table linens, candles, cutlery, glassware and china,” Vaz says. “We also supply service and cooking staff to ensure the event is flawless.” As for dinner itself, food can be prepared on- or off-site, and if you order “takeout” and pickup, meals come with heating instructions. Some rental companies even allow you to — wait for it — pack up dirty dishes. “You treat the china, glassware and cutlery as if it’s disposable. You just scrape plates and put them in the bins we provide,” says George Ogston of Gervais Rentals, a company that specializes in party supply and tent rentals in Toronto. Depending on the number of guests and the menu, you can pull off a catered meal — with all the trimmings — for less than you’d pay doing it yourself. Holiday meals average at about $35 to $40 per person, and the hourly rate for chefs, wait staff and bartenders runs from $25 to $40 per hour. Dishes, glassware and cutlery can be rented for as little as $4 per place setting.

Daniel Megly, co-owner of Toronto’s Daniel et Daniel, a catering and event-planning company, credits the trend of hosting a catered holiday party to customers wanting to spend more time with their families, and less time doing everything else. “With the professionalism and reliability of some of the staffing companies, the client has less to worry about,” he says. The company, which services everything from small get-togethers to galas, caters both to clients who prefer the typical holiday dinner, as well as those hosting the increasingly popular drop-in cocktail parties. “We carry the traditional items in our shop for people to order and takeout. We also have a number of seasonal items that play off ‘traditional’ Christmas food, such as savoury bread pudding pancakes with sliced turkey breast and cranberry compote,” says Megly. The Hanukkah menu at ZB Catering is equally mouth-watering — the smoked brisket with Jack Daniel’s Bourbon and sweet onion jam is bound to impress the most cynical bubbe.

Aword of advice from the experts: Book early. “Getting a quote in allows you to hold the date, and numbers can always change later,” Megly adds.