Tuesday 28 June 2011

Birthday party planning - food

We are at part seven of the birthday party planning series which started here . This time we look at kids party food.

This is the bit I detest, the only bit I find annoyingly complicated; what food to offer the kids.  You know you should have healthy options but let's face it you'll have to bring them home again.  You know parents won't appreciate kids going home high on sugar, but they love it.  It's a tightrope of nightmare.

And yes, I speak from experience because over the past five years I've tried all the options.

A buffet - messy, time consuming to set up and clear up and results in only the biscuits, cakes and crisps being eaten.  But at least parents graze it as well and no one complains about it.

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Individual boxes - cute, the kids love them and tend to take them home afterwards.  But they're fiddly to make up and you can guarantee cheese haters get the cheese sandwiches.

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Pizza and Ice Cream - fabulously easy, a real treat for many.  But of course there are those kids who don't like pizza or ice cream and that can be tricky.

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This year Rachel has asked for pizza and ice cream again and so we're doing that.  I'm debating whether to have some backup snacks just in case and will probably give in.

2 comments:

pediatric emr said...

Great ideas! I think individual boxes is more better for the birthday party of my niece. Thanks for the ideas.

-mel-

BrightEyedJess said...

For the kids its usually pizza, sausage rolls, crisps and sausages. I also always make sure there is food for the parents. I hate going to one of those parties where the food is making me hungry and I feel guilty for nicking the food that's meant for the kids. So this year I had some spicy dips and tangy crisps out for the parents. I was on a tight budget this year, otherwise I throw in some home made chicken tikka and a few pakoras (indian deep fried potato in batter)