What to serve at 11am

[Balloonart]

What would you serve (mostly) 6 year olds at a party when the slot for eating will be 11am please? It is probably too early for a full on lunch so I’m a bit stumped.

Thanks!

I would still serve lunch type food. Mine would happily eat sandwiches etc at 11 especially if it was a soft play, active sort of party.

We’ve gone to plenty of parties where the kids have been served standard children’s party fare at that time (sandwiches, crisps, fruit etc).

Alternatively, if you don’t want to serve lunch, you could get a load of croissants and pain au chocolates for everyone.

Ooohhh, croissants is a great idea.

Pain au chocolates would be messy with 6 year olds.

They'll all be starving by 11 - agree standard party food would be fine.

Just give them standard party food, they will be disappointed with croissants and pain aux chocolate, kids don't care it's not officially lunch time and parents will expect them to be having lunch type food.

Yeh I would stick to normal lunch. Sandwiches, crisps, etc.

We actually did do the croissants and pain au chocolates a few years ago. In our case it was because the bday boy doesn’t eat sandwiches so the spread included cherry tomatoes, cucumber sticks, blueberries and all the usual suspects. They went down well. No more messy than any other kids party.

We found parents grabbed one too while they were waiting, which was fine as I catered for that but you may need to allow extra.

Normal party food. They'll have been up and about fairly early to get ready and get to a party that presumably starts at 10 or earlier if eating at 11. They won't realise it's not lunchtime yet and a pile of croissants while tempting for adults would probably be a bit boring for kids. Could always get a selection of mini pastries to go with everything else though

I would avoud croissants for a party. Parents will expect and kids will eat standard party food at tgat time.

I really don’t understand the comments about croissants and pain au chocolates being boring/ disappointing for kids. Are most kids excited by cheese sandwiches? Two of my three hate sandwiches and the third eats them, but would never choose them so I’ve had to do quite a few alternative bday teas and kids just tuck in.

I already have some standard party food planned - fruit platters (apples, oranges, grapes, blueberries and strawberries) crisps and popcorn. I ended up with so many leftover sandwiches after the last party (where we served lunch at 12:30) and see that happen at all the other parties too, that I thought something different/lighter might go down better.

If not croissants, maybe bagels with cream cheese?

If you live near a decent bagel place I'd get a load of bagels, a couple of types of cream cheese, some tokenistic fruit & veg, fresh orange for the kids & a vat of coffee for parents. That was standard morning get together food CA when we lived there & always went down really well.

any food will be messy with 5 year olds

id do sausages on sticks, grapes and cheese on sticks, cherry tomatoes, the wrapped brooch, croissant & pain au choc from aldi

Kids will eat a lunch type menu at 11. Parents will expect it too as its approaching lunch.

I wouldn't do croissants and no bagels with cream cheese. Kids love pizza etc. Fruit is great and crisps. I don't see kids going for veg either

Hot dogs. Pizza. Small sandwiches with crusts cut off may appeal?

It’s not at our house, so I can’t make pizzas - and I wouldn’t serve cold pizza.

I would stick to standard party food too, jam sandwiches, cheese, ham. Kids don't care about bagels etc they're happy with a simple sarnie
Cucumber/carrot sticks always a good side with the crisps

I would still do party lunch - for a brunchy feeling, I’d suggest vegetarian sausage rolls made with de-skinned Richmond vegan sausages and a pinch of herbs - these have always gone really well at my kids’ parties (make the evening before to cook fresh when you get up at 7am, they will be cool enough to pack up and stay crisp). No one can tell they aren’t meat and it keeps the veggie kids happy.

Those, the fruit and crisps, a few plates of sandwiches (jam, ham, cheese) and a platter of homemade vanilla and chocolate cupcakes would be ideal.

If you do lots of smaller plates of sandwiches rather than a few huge ones, then there’s no waste as you can hold some back and see how the first lot go down.

I'd do the premade boxes so each kid gets a sandwich, a small chocolate biscuit bar, a packet of crisps and a drink etc then do fruit as sf serve
Less mess and kiss more likely to eat sandwich if it's their rather than having the choice to not pick it

That sounds good. Children don't really do sandwiches. You could make uo little boxes or plates with a selection of party food. I don't why but bagels sound a faff abd still don't children will bother with then, nice as they are. How about crackers and cheese, quick and easy to eat when kids just want to be back playing again. Less mess to than peeling a half eaten cheesey bagel off the table!

So here’s my experience having catered many bday teas, traditional and alternative:

• as everyone says, kids don’t care, they eat what they are given
• sandwiches are generally not actually that popular, in that they don’t get eaten
• pizza goes down well but you need an oven or get an expensive takeaway
• make it easy for yourself, so for me it would be easier to pull some croissants out of a bag than do the bagels that need to be split and spread
• make it familiar for the kids, they are suspicious of food they don’t know and won’t eat it
• individual lunch boxes are tidier for you and although they probably still don’t get eaten, you don’t need to see or deal with the waste
• if you’re not serving a full meal that will be fine with everyone so long as parents know, people just plan round it.

In my experience 6yos don't eat anything much other than hula hoops, crisps, cheese savouries, biscuits and the icing licked off the birthday cake.

i stopped doing sandwiches a few years ago, I'd just do a bowl of babybel, grapes and the things mentioned above and some mini begs of sweets/chocolate bars

One more point on leftovers, with sandwiches any extras just end up in the bin but pizza, sausages, sausage rolls etc (if not manky from little hands) we do take home and use for a couple of lunches. I try to put out just want I need and keep extra back to top up in case kids are hungry. That way I know that food won’t get spoiled.

The extra croissants went into a bread and butter pudding so that day leftovers were very welcome.

What about brunch type foods? Pancakes (like the shop made thick ones) with fruit, a few pastries as people suggested, maybe some muffins sandwiches and yogurts?