Good snacks to take for children to eat at a wedding (bonus points for vegan + no need for keeping cold!)

[mummabubs]

We have a family wedding coming up in the UK in a few weeks. All catering is vegan and our children are the only children invited. Bride has reached out to me as it's a morning ceremony and then wedding breakfast isn't until 4pm. She's worried the kids will be very hungry (I agree!) and has suggested I bring some snacks for them. Obviously I'm more than happy to do this, but I just find I'm drawing a blank beyond a couple of ideas. I guess ideally we're looking for meat-free finger foods that aren't too messy given they'll be in smart clothes.

Please feel free to pop your suggestions here as I'm confident Mumsnet will broaden my idea horizons!

Thanks all 😊

Omg I'd be tearing a leg off the groom and eating it raw if no one fed me till 4pm after a morning ceremony. What are they thinking?? Everyone should have a packed lunch with them, not just the kids. Sandwich crisps fruit cheese sticks yoghurt are all fine at room temperature for a few hours they aren't going to get food poisoning from something that's been out of the fridge since breakfast.

This. I'd be fainting.

I wouldn't do vegetarian either just in case, but the old t-shirts is a brilliant suggestion.
Baby wipes for hands and faces.

@tommyhoundmum

its not that long to go without food!

besides its not really going without food anyway, seeing as there will be canapés.

im sure everyone will be so busy and distracted enjoying the day that they won’t even be thinking about food! 😀

There’s a limit to which I am willing to accept a bride & groom’s requests, especially on an occasion when my DC are expected to be “on show”? I am guessing they are going to be the only DC in attendance.
Is it a church ceremony followed by reception with a drive in between when you can divert to a McDs or a Greggs? If not (and it wasn’t at my DBro’s wedding), then I took an entire rucksack of food - sandwiches, cold pasta with tomato sauce, croissant and then various snacks - knowing that, if bored, they would get even hungrier than usual. I also took a lot of activities for them … football, bubbles (they were a bit younger than yours), colouring, stickers, some
playmobil, jigsaws as I knew that they would have to be keeping themselves occupied for several hours.

We had a family wedding recently - ceremony at 1, but meant us leaving where we were staying at 11.30, wedding breakfast at 4.

There were canapés in the middle but nothing DD would entertain eating.

I took a bag of quiet mess free stuff to play with and snacks, which was easy enough to just stash somewhere out of the way until needed. Are you driving there? If so even easier as you could leave stuff in the car including possibly a cool box. In the end, as the weather was nice and her cousin was there to play with we didn’t need much in the way of the activities/ toys.

Food wise she had a big breakfast before we left. I took cereal bars, fruit, a peanut butter sandwich (cut into very small bite size pieces to minimise the odds of her wandering round with it and making a mess), a couple of mini croissants, bag of mini breadsticks and some dried apricots. Didn’t need all that for lunch but turned out she wouldn’t eat the evening meal either so it came in handy alongside the extra bread and butter the venue gave her - she’s not normally fussy at all but it was just one of those days when everything was upside down! Have you asked what the wedding breakfast will be in case it’s not something your kids are likely to eat?

I'm going to a wedding like this soon. Middle of nowhere, no accommodation for guests so we have booked hotels 20 minutes drive away.
The food isn't until 4pm and never mind children I can't go all day without food. My adult DC are planning to discreetly take snacks and I'll be doing the same.
I was thinking of a couple of sandwiches in a cool box so they can be left in the car and we'll pop to the car at an opportune moment.

Probably just as well I'm not invited.

Just make a packed lunch with sandwiches / crisps / fruit etc I think you’re overthinking this!

Mixed nuts coated with cinnamon and maple syrup then baked for 10 mins at 160 degrees. They don't last long in our house!

All I would be thinking about was how hungry I was if I had to go from breakfast to 4pm. I'm not even a big eater, eat to live rather than live to eat, but I get faint and fuzzy if I don't eat at regular intervals.
Even then there won't actually be food in front of you at 4pm, it'll be sitting down and waiting.

Also I wouldn't worry about making vegan food for the children unless it's something you know they like. You want them fed and not cranky.

It’s literally wheat😉

The last wedding I attended had a separate platter of sandwiches, crisps and fruit for the DC when the adults were having canapés. The biggest issue was trying to tell certain relatives they were just for kids and not for everyone.

I would genuinely just make a packed lunch for each child and if it must be vegan a hummus sandwich or Violife cream cheese alternative, crisps or pretzels, fruit/veg sticks etc.

I would make a proper packed lunch (for you too!)

Ive packs and leave it in the car. Sneak off for a picnic.

I went to a wedding like this and didn’t know the timings. I normally have loads of snacks for the kids but didn’t as we were away from home and as it was a hotel assumed I could buy something. Nope. They wouldn’t even sell
me a bag of crisps. Kids were miserable as sin it was a nightmare. Definitely take stuff.

It's literally Whole Grain WHEAT (84.8%), Sugar, Invert Sugar Syrup, BARLEY MALT Extract, Salt, Molasses, Flavourings, Iron, Vitamin B3, B5, B9, B6, B2

When it comes to small children no reasonable person expects non-vegan children to eat only vegan food.

Just order dominoes to be delivered to reception, everyone will be incredibly envious.

My kids would have been very cross not to get the canapés, to be honest!

If you have a car I would be researching a cafe/supermarket/garage forecourt in the town 20 minutes away and heading there. Not only to get food but to kill time for the kids.

There won't be.

Id be taking food for yourself too tbh

😂😂😂

What are the guests actually doing for 4-5 hours between the morning ceremony and the 4 pm meal?

Hanging around getting fucking bored is what. They will be hungry at lunch time and canapes won't cut it.

That's what they have between lunch at 1pm and. Dinner served at 6 or something....

The bride hasn't felt a duty to respect that human bodies, including kids, need fucking food. She's being a crap host, so don't pretzel yourself to make sure your kids have a nice packed lunch.

What, weirdy vegan food like peanut butter or jam sandwiches, crackers, fruit, nuts, biscuits, crisps etc. I know, it's terrible

OP what's happening between 1.30 and 4 pm? That's a long time for anyone to be hanging around waiting for a meal.

Falafel, vegan sausage rolls, cucumber / carrot sticks, hummus, pesto pasta salad, Soreen malt loaf, cut up vegan / veggie bean burger.

I would definitely sneak off and give mine a (car) picnic though.