To serve a baby led weaning buffet at my daughters party?

[PignutSalamander]

Dd is turning 1, I am planning to do a buffet based on the very hungry caterpillar. The plan as stands is to set it all up on a trestle table and when it's time to serve it put the legs down and let them at it.
Consideration has obviously been given to making it safe and easy for kids to feed themselves and the first few people I mentioned it to said they thought it was a great idea
I mentioned it to a mum who will be bringing her dd and she said " err! What about germs? How will we stop them taking a bite and dropping it, then another baby eating it?"
I basically feel that they will be spending the whole party sharing toys, touching each other etc and that germs are just going to be shared.
Obviously I will ensure that hands are washed before they eat and have also checked for allergys and warned mums not to put them in there best clothes. Also seperate snacks for adults
So what's the consensus mn? Aibu?

[janey68]

The germ thing is irrelevant because the babies will all be crawling and toddling about putting toys etc in their mouths. But I agree that it sounds like its a recipe for chaos and personally id provide little bowls so parents can select what they know their children might like- particularly important when feeding other people's kid and you don't know whether certain things agree with them

[aftermay]

I wouldn't do it for one year olds. They won't truly appreciate it and it sounds like hard work.

I wouldn't call it BLW buffet either. It's a buffet, they're all like that, even adult ones.

[MustTidyPlayroom]

I just could't cope with mess (I like to control the fun) - there will be squashed food everywhere and ruined clothes - please tell me that you don't have a carpet?

[PignutSalamander]

Cognac. Yes although the ice cream will be the marshmallow kind.
I refer to it a blw because I intend to put it inf from of them and let them at it. I'm not looking for an argument about blw. I want to what objections people would have so I can either change plan completely or adapt to suit people better.
Just to be clear this will NOT be in my house but in a hall.

[ZenNudist]

I think germ mother is being ridiculous (pfb) . Every party I ever go to ds starts off with his own plate but inevitably eats a bit of dropped cake or whatever.

But I also think you would be better letting parents select food for each dc onto a paper plate. That way they can ration so each child gets a fair mix. Ime the kids will all head for the sausages or crisps and ignore the cucumber sticks etc, or at least my ds would.

If I went to a party like this I'd be a bit . Please at least remind the other mums to bring changes of clothes as it sounds messier than a usual party.

[tabulahrasa]

I wouldn't be so bothered about them sharing food - but are you honestly going to let a load of one year olds crawl about on a buffet?

[MustTidyPlayroom]

And calling it a BLW buffet is just daft - sounds pretentious and show-offy! It is just a bit of chopped fruit and leaves by the sounds of it (I still have a dreadful memory of my now 7 year old choking on a bit of rocket aged 13 months and projectile vomiitting over a table in a restaurant - now that really would ruin your buffet!).

[Adamit]

prepare for a lot of wastage, food mess and clean up. sounds like alot of work ... prepping it all, setting it up in a hall, making sure some kid doesnt crowd surf on it and the cleaning it all up. how are you going to enjoy the party yourself??

[SanityClause]

When my DC were little, the parents usually sat with or behind their DC to help them. What about low tables, rather than on the floor?

[Coralanne]

Good Luck . It's taken me until I have DGC to realise that you have to keep it simple, simple, simple.

You enjoy it more, the DC enjoy it more.

It's like when I was a beginning teacher. Made all these wonderful lesson plans not knowing at the time how hard they would be to implement with a room full of 5 year olds.

The best advice I received was from my own Head Teacher. Keep ti simple.

[MrsKeithRichards]

Oh my, the whole things sounds horrendous in so many ways.

[Coralanne]

Keep IT simple

[themaltesecat]

Some people have an awful lot of time on their hands, no?

[stifnstav]

Are all the other kids BLW'd though? Are you happy to let a ton of one year olds loose on food they might not have experienced before (if not BLW'd)?

I can imagine a lot of gagging and spitting out.

And I did BLW with DS but there's no way I'd give him (or a bunch of other people's one year olds) anything with marshmallow in. Its a choking hazard.

[munchkinmaster]

Do you are basically putting a lot of (gorgeous beautifully thought out) food on the floor and are going to let a bunch of one year olds help themselves?

Good luck with that! Don't you like your carpet/children's party clothes/walls/curtains/furniture. Sound grim like a bunch of mini mud wrestlers.

Buffet for babies........ I've heard it all now........

[janey68]

You're hiring a hall for a one year olds birthday party?? Gosh how many people are you inviting?
If I can be perfectly honest it all sounds a bit like you're trying too hard. It sounds like a lot of work and attention to detail which they honestly wont remember. One yr olds are too little for organised activities, they just want to toddle or crawl about and maybe nibble a few goodies, but they won't appreciate the effort of caterpillars, butterflies and cocoons. Why not do this for when your dd is a little older? Remember the babies may not even eat much. It just seems like you're going to a hell of an effort to produce a table which will look fabulous in photos, but will then be trodden underfoot and crawled on tbh

[yousankmybattleship]

It sounds like a recipe for disaster to me. Lovely for a two year old's party but one year olds won't appreciate it and will crawl all over the food. I agree with others who have said just do a normal buffet and let parents put together a plate for their own child. And don't call it a BLW buffet - that just sounds wanky!

[SanityClause]

I've looked on pinterest. Can I just say, 1yo DC won't appreciate your hard work. In fact, IME, even older DC won't appreciate carefully arranged food, all that much.

Sorry to rain on your parade.

[CloudsAndTrees]

It sounds lovely, (although i cant picture it properly) just provide some hungry caterpillar plates so that squeamish parents can separate some food if they want to.

[Softlysoftly]

I do BLW (ie she feeds herself) and would find the announcement "BLW buffet" a bit twattish tbh because at 1 pretty much all babies are well past the spoon fed puree stage aren't they?

And that is what BLW means, it means put food in front of the child and let Rushmere feed themselves. It does not mean chuck a load in the middle of the floor and throw a group of kids at it like starving feral puppies. It sounds gross and however much they may share toys I wouldn't want mine reading something another Ltd had day on, and squashed underfoot.

The Hungry Caterpillar idea sounds lovely but provide plates.

[TeWiSavesTheDay]

I'm with the others, the food sounds lovely and I blw, but there will be a huge mess and it is not easy to try and wipe down half a dozen dc before they smear it all over their parents.

How much time have you got for clear up at the hall as well?

[HDee]

I'd hate it. It will be disgusting and messy. There will be food everywhere. I'd probably grab a couple of breadsticks for my baby and move out of the way, because it sounds like utter carnage will ensue.

I hate the whole BLW thing anyway. Give me a jar of purée and a spoon, thanks very much. I have too much to do to be cleaning a baby from head to toe after each meal, plus the floor and walls where it has been launched.

[TheFallenMadonna]

They won't appreciate it. In a couple of years time they will, but one year olds will make the connection between the food on the floor and a book.

[tabulahrasa]

Out of curiosity - are you still BLW at 1, it hadn't been invented when mine were babies, but they were just eating food by that age?

[sleepybump]

Hehe sounds like a lot of fun... Yes it will be Hugely messy so i wouldbt do it (just had normal buffet and blankets covering the floor -parents got to plate up their own childs, then all the children ate each others anyway lol!)

Germ mother has a lot to learn about babies! They just lurrrve soggy breadstick found on the carpet ;D