To not even bother trying to provide any healthy options?

[Agent64]

DDs birthday party tomorrow. It's quite a small affair, just a bunch of friends coming round after school for food and games, age 12-13. Pizza, garlic bread, spring rolls and a heap of crap maize based snacks have been requested and will be provided, along with fizzy drinks and lurid OTT cupcake tower.

Cupcake tower will be homemade. Everything else has been bought in and will either go from freezer to oven or will be opened and poured into a bowl.

My question is this - is there any point at all in providing grapes/carrot sticks/cherry toms/anything remotely healthy or should I just give it up as a lost cause and send them all home hyper?

GIve it up as a lost cause. It's a party - nobody expects it to be healthy and virtuous!

grapes and carrot sticks for teenagers??? why would you even waste the money!

It's a party and therefore all responsibility to provide healthy nutrition is removed.

Pizza is just a cooked cheese and tomato sandwich. Spring rolls have vegetables in them. Um, fizzy drinks have water in them. I'm struggling. A carrot stick won't help them not go home hyper. Enjoy! YANBU.

I'd go for some grapes - they may surprise you and eat them, and if not, you can eat them yourself.

Okay maybe some token grapes then

I was going to suggest some cherry tomatoes. though would not do the carrot sticks etc unless requested by party girl. perhaps have fruit available but to one side?

it is a party and a one off junk fest is ok.

pizza has got tomatoe and veggies on anyway!

Cherry tomatoes and carrot sticks at a teenagers party? Hahaha!!!

Seriously no-ones going to eat any fruit at a party either.

Grapes and cherry tomatoes will probably get used as missiles by 12-13 year old boys.

I'd stick with crisps. At least they're dry and can be hoovered up easily.

Sweetpea, don't bother re food, just check rucksacks for parents stolen booze.

My ds got totally pissed at 13 at a house party with lovely parents who were downstairs with the healthy snacks.

If it was summer I would say strawberries. so long as you had a massive chocolate fountain to entirely negate any health benefits from the fruit.

Love mumsnet!!!

You need party rings, it's not a party without party rings, stick some chilli guacamole ( beans innit ?? ) down next to the crisps for a bit of healtherising.

YABVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVU

If they're only 12-13yrs, you should provide grapes that are cut in half.

In fact, if they have olives on their pizza that's a choking hazzard.

Oh and don't embarrass them by providing glasses for their smuggled in WKDs...that's like so embarrassing.

Going to buck the trend here, I did birthday tea for ddtwins (13) a few months ago and the cherry tomatoes and grapes mysteriously vanished, and not into/under the sofa either. Also the carrot and cucumber sticks with the dips. In fact it all disappeared into them somewhere. Despite the one who has acrimoniously divorced parents and therefore cons both of them out of huge amounts of pocket money bringing shedloads of Haribos and other OneStop crap.

Seriously though, who cares.

It's one meal out of a lifetime of meals

If it contains nothing healthy, no-one's going to die.

Please don't taint a perfectly good party by giving them healthy stuff!

There are plenty more days in the year to be sensible.

I'd bung a few cherry tomatoes and grapes out, what's the harm ?

I would have agreed with everyone else on this thread re: pointlessness of healthy food a couple of weeks ago, however...

On Halloween we had two bowls - bagged sweets in one, satsumas in the others. Young teens cleaned us out of satsumas. Left the haribo. Weirdos.

I am the veteran of many kids parties, I always provide a healthy option along with the sugar laden crap. At the end of the party, all the food is always gone, with the exception of the plate of fruit, carrot sticks and tomatoes. In fact the only time I have ever seen anyone touch the stuff was when a small boy took two carrot sticks, stuck them up his nose and ran around the room shouting "I'm an alien"
Teenagers even less likely to eat them IMO

Yeah Scrambled but what did they do with the satsumas?

Tangerines are brilliant for playing catch and "cricket" with (veteran here).

Little hint.

Well I held a 4 yo birthday party at McDonald's

Carrot sticks, grapes, cherry tomatoes?

12-13 years?