Children’s party food with no fruit?

[Yessiryessir3bagsfull]

AIBU not to include fruit in party food for 1-4 year olds? There will be sandwiches, crisps, cocktail sausages, chicken bites. Carrot and cucumber sticks, popcorn, party rings and chocolate fingers. Will fruit be missed - it’s so expensive for 20-25 kids.
thanks 🙂

You have carrot and cucumber, you absolutely do not need fruit too.

It's your party, you can do what you want.

My 2 year old wouldn't touch any of the food at your party as we make Jim's tick to healthier food and he doesn't eat celery or carrot sticks, but parents with these kind of restrictions like us bring food with them for their kid. We do, it works out fine. People can have whatever they want at their parties.

Bananas are quite a cheap fruit to include or grapes if you want something still healthy but a bit cheaper.

Our of curiosity, will you always bring him his own food at parties or is it just until a certain age?

I bought enough fruit for 20 people for DD’s 2nd birthday, stuck it in the fridge, got caught up in the party and completely forgot to put it out! Not only was it not missed, we survived off just fruit for days 😂

My daughter (2 and 3/4) just started eating strawberries within the past 2 weeks. She still won't touch blueberries or raspberries. From being a baby until very recently the only fruit she would eat was bananas - unless puréed and mixed with yoghurt. She even refused fruit crumble!

Yes. I absolutely do. Made a rainbow platter out of strawberries, oranges, pineapple, green grapes, blueberries and red grapes. And another one using veg (cherry toms, carrot sticks, yellow pepper sticks, cucumber, black olives) with houmous and it was popular. Also had homemade scones, jam, cake, crackers, cheese, ham, pineapple and cheese on sticks, ready salted crisps, biscuits and cream cheese on baps. Also a bowl of upf free chocolate buttons. No one complained. I don't think healthy food has to be considered boring 🤷

Strawberries always go down really well at every party I’ve been to.

You've got to be joking?

I would forgo the popcorn as a choking hazard especially given the ages of party guests.

I usually do a couple punnets of berries or a watermelon (the latter if it's very hot) and never have any left. I'd say it actually goes first and I find parents are always thankful there's that option, especially with some kids unable to have wheat etc.

My DC’s would have asked where is the party food🤣

I’m really surprised people think it’s weird to have fruit at a kids party. Any 1-4y old party is usually hummus and crisps/ crackers, cucumber, cheese, carrots, maybe pizza slices and then loads of berries/ melon and cake.
Parties with actual sweets for 4 and under have been incredibly rare, and we do a lot of nursery parties.

Not for our group - pizza, crisps and chocolate biscuits are the key ingredients

I'd lose the carrot sticks and cucumber and put the budget towards pizza and sausage rolls, but I guess we're all different.

Don’t know what world everyone is living in where they say that this kind of fun party food is for ‘special occasions’ and a treat. Maybe in some distant past. Crisps, sausage rolls, party rings, chocolate fingers? This is now just standard lunchbox post-school snack fair every day of the week for a lot of families.

@SouthLondonMum22
I don't know at what age I'll stop bringing food with me for him.
We always have fruit in our bag when we go anywhere, to the park, the supermarket, in the car. He eats tangerines and bananas non stop.

I get that I'm being way more uptight about it than most parents. Most kids get cake and chocolate.

But his body is so much better off without that stuff and it's within my power and budget to keep giving him fruit and healthy stuff so why wouldn't I?

A few of my friends was recently talking about stupid they think it is that parents waste money sending their kids into school with every kind of berry in their lunchboxes. I kept my mouth shut. I think if you can afford it then you'd be stupid not to. Good health is one of the most valuable assets your kid will ever have in their life.

For under 4 year olds?

Yes - it’s a party. They eat sensible food the rest of the time.

Are my kids the only ones that hate cucumber and watermelon…?

Dunno- my 2 youngest would prefer that to sausage rolls etc.

To be clear - I’m not a cucumber sticks for show person. I refuse to put out token salad at adult bbqs 😂🤦‍♀️. I will always put out strawberries (and other berry friends) as it gets eaten 🤷‍♀️

5 bags of apples and 5 bunches of bananas will mostly be rotting in the corner after the party, don’t bother 😂

My daughter (2.5) won't eat either although she did try cucumber the other day.
She is very fussy about fruit- strawberries, raspberries, satsumas, bananas as long as I don't peel them and occasionally apples as long as I peel them! 🤦‍♀️
Veg she only really eats in things like curry

Remind me never to accept a party invitation from you!

I misread/misunderstood that as Brian Blessed doing dark matter physics

Quite the party piece!!!

I agree! Don’t need the sausages, chicken bites. Just chocolate fingers or party rings. Couple punnets of blueberries will go far.