to be slightly miffed that on my sons preschool christmas party, the children were given more chocolate than mine would get in a week!

[QuintessentialShadowOfYuleTide]

A chocolate bar and a christmas cracker was placed on their plate as they sat down after performing the nativity play. Not just a small chocolate sweet, but a maaahooosive caramelo! All the parents had brought in food, carrot sticks, cheese and pinapple, sandwiches, sausage rolls, but by the time this food was passed around (and rejected) the kids (2 1/2 - 4 year olds) busy chewing through that big chocolate bar. Then the cadbury minirolls came out.

So, time to visit santa before going, and another HUGE chocolate coin.

It was a nice thought, and a good party, but could they not wait with the chocolates till all the food had been passed around? All the kids were too busy stuffing themselves to eat proper food.

He is still "high". Has not had a nap, and has had nothing proper to eat since breakfast.

grrr

Juuule, the kids had a great time. They were real stars. So overwhelming to see such small children all dressed up, performing in their nativity.

They're great, aren't they makes you feel all christmassy.

On that BBC2 series about food they did one about the impact of sugar on children trying to prove the feelings parents had about hyperactity.

They held two childrens parties...one with loads of chocolate etc and the other with no sugar. They didn't tell the parents and then interviewed the parents after the party to see whether they thought their kids behaviour was typical after a party and which party they thought their children had attended.

Conclusion was both sets of kids had a great time and they behaved exactly the same way. The parents all thought their children had gone to the 'sugar' party and said they were hyperactive, but in truth it seemed it was the fun they had that made them a bit wild.

Here is the weblink...

www.bbc.co.uk/sn/humanbody/truthaboutfood/kids/hyperactivity.shtml

That is an interesting point Robin, maybe we incorrectly blame the sweets, while it is the psychological effect of the party and the excitement that is to blame.

He has now had some bread, and is happily doing a puzzle, but is in a really good mood.

I think, despite, or maybe because of that huge chocolate bar, he really did have a great time. He got to sit there with all his friends and stuff his little face with the biggest chocolate his little hands had ever touched!

Just browsing but had to share this, my mother used to give my children there pudding first just in case they were to full after there dinner!!!!!!! took them a while to realise it would not work at home!

Chocolate is food. There are loads of calories in chocolate as I know to my cost. If you have eaten a chocolate bar at lunch you probably don't need any more food until tea time, especially if you are a small child.

This is fine for the child once in a while but would be annoying if you had made food as well.

It's a party! Do adults eat celery sticks and mineral water at parties? No. We indulge. FGS, I wish people would stop getting so hung up about FOOD.

agree they should have let the kids eat the party food first.

I agree with LoveAngelGabriel, it's a party, when my dd's are at parties I let them choose the food they eat, it that means they only eat sweets and chocolate that's fine as it's only occasionally.

I think partys are for fun and agree with the majority on here that as a one off it doesn't matter what they eat.

I too would have been very pissed off to have made and effort to bring food and it not get eaten though. And agree that the proper food should have been dished out at least at the same time as the chocolate if not before...

I actually think giving toddlers small amounts of 'naughty' food regularly means that they are less likely to see it as a treat and gorge on it when its offered. My ds1 (22 months) loves cake but is equally excited with fruit as neither is forbidden.

Well, when I go to a party I usually drink considerably more alcohol than I would usually drink in a week, is that the same?

Thanks to those of you who have realized it is not the chocolate per se, but all the effort on behalf of the parents who took the effort of preparing and bringing food, when the first offer was one huge bar of chocolate ready and waiting on the plates. It took a good 5 minutes from the kids were seated till the food started making its rounds around the table. I dont object to chocolate, cakes, icecream, biscuits, etc, but I do think they should be offered either slightly after the "proper" food have made its rounds, or around the same time.

There are lots of comparisons to parties for grown ups.
My reply to this is:
When we go out for dinner, do we order 3 puddings, or do we have starter, maincourse or dessert?

When we drink, dont we normally try and eat something first to line our tummies, or do we gorge ourselves on alcohol on an empty stomach?

A good party should cater for the fact that we react a lot better to the party foods and drinks on offer if we have had something abit "sensible" first.

oh bust being a kid is meant to be about being fun.Let them eat what they want at a party. You can be as strict as you wanrt the rest of the time.

Ds3 would have eaten all the savoury stuff (and beleive me he stuffs way more chocolate at home than the average mnet child as I really can't be arsed to sweat the samll stuff and he badgers me all the time).,

oh and *never8 make the mistake pf putting in effort for children and expecting them to appreciate/react to/notice it. Therein lies the way of bitterness and feeling unappreciared., They;re children of course they don;t care about the effort. Let them enjy what they want. I never make stuff for parties btw- previouslyt I have signed uyp for crisps. For ds3's xmas part =my name is against 'bananas'. easy peasy lemon squeezy,

Message withdrawn

My ds was given an easter egg the size of a sack of potatoes at pre school. I was a bit pissed off because it totally eclipsed the one I bought him. It would be like getting your own child a bike for his birthday and then an acquaintance turning up with a porche for him. I have no objection per se to chocolate but giving someone elses child a huge chocolate bar 15 seconds before lunch is a bit of an imposition imo.

Yuletide

Re your dinner out analogy.

Do we have a started of carrot sticks and mixed leaves?

Or do we stick said carrot sticks into a wonderful fat filled dip?

Do we have the leaves as nature intended? Or do we have them dressed in a wonderful vinaigrette, with avocado and possibly so rather fat laden goats cheese, with onion confit?

Do we drink mineral water , or do we grab the biggest, nicest glass of bubbly we can get our sticky little mitts on?

I know which one I do.

The excess changes, I don't head of the cadburys choco, but I do indulge. We all do. I'm with yurt1. I can't be arsed to sweat the small stuff, they are kids and its cribo

There's something in yurt1's method. Until I was 4 or 5 I refused on principle to eat chocolate, sweets or ice-cream because everyone else said they were nice.

I couldn't get het up about this either. It's a special occasion. As far as the not napping goes, ds1 hasn't napped since his second birthday (and we can't get him to bed until 8.30 or 9 if we want him to sleep until 7 or 7.30), so that would only raise a (very tired) smile...

MartianBishop, you make me hungry!

I see your points, but I still think it is thoughtless to ask the parents to prepare all this food, and then leave a huge (10 cm long, 2 cm wide, 2 cm high) chocolate bar on the plate for them to find prior to being served the food.

Yes, there were carrot sticks (which I prefer personally dipped in hummus, or neat), but there were also coctail sausages, and sandwiches, in general standard british party food, which I am surprised that most of you now say are not really partyish? Why do the British then insist on this food as party food if it is not regarded "good enough for a party"?

I remember having a thread long time ago about why not serve up a nice casserolle, or a spaghette bolognese, or home made pizza for a party, and I was told in no uncertain terms that cherry tomatoes, carrot sticks and sandwiches are part of british party food for generations, it is part of tradition and regarded "good party food".

So, I am very surprised that the food in question is so snubbed now, I bet the carrot sticks would be very offended. The neatly prepared cream cheese an cucumber sandwiches too. Sniff.

"Quintessential, would you mind preparing a hundredweight of cheese and pineapple for the party? It's just that we need some ballast for the dustbin. Cheers."

This is the scenario that irks you, yes? Not a moral objection to chocolate.

I've been tasked with a loaf's worth of Marmite sandwiches for the Xmas party. If they're untouched because everyone's full to overflowing with Cadbury's I shall be a mite displeased.

If they're untouched because they look funny and taste filthy, then that's a different matter!

JoyeuxNoel THANK YOU!

I was up at 6 am cubing cheese and cutting pineapple. I did not want to do it the day before because the juices from the pinapple would let the cheese go all soggy and discusting. It looked really nice and neat. I was not the only one to spend a lot of money on good food, spent time preparing it, after all it should be enough for a lot of kids. But, most of it wasted as there was a 30/40 pence chocolate bar ready and waiting on the plates.

Hang on, you were asked to produce the good food!!!! In that case entirely justified to feel miffed!