Dishes to feed 8 people for dinner

Hello! My wife and I are going to be hosting friends to play D&D (tabletop RPG game) after work. Most people will arrive at around 8pm (after work) and since I'm home for the day I would like to have food ready for people to eat. It's going to be 8 people in total, no kids. What are some good recipes to make, considering I'd like to keep this under $30/40 if possible. I cook and bake at home all the time and have made many dishes from scratch. In terms of food/ingredients availability, we live in California US.