No savoury stuff for 4yr old b'day party?

[whenhenshaveteeth]

I'm not sure what the etiquette is as I'm not from this country.

From what I can tell, at most kids b'day parties children get savoury stuff, also some sweet stuff and then the cake. We went to one this weekend and children got sandwiches, crisps and mini pizzas and carrots around 4pm, then cupcakes, then the cake got out but they didn't eat it and got given some in their party bag.

Our party starts at 2pm, and I'm guessing the kids will have had lunch before going so I think it's a bit weird to give them sandwiches and sausages etc. In my head, we'll do games for 1h or so and then have some food, so 3pm is a bit random for savoury food in that they'll be hungry but it's too early to replace their dinner... Do you know what I mean?

In France we get "le gouter", which is mainly a few sweet stuff and then the cake, which is the most important thing.

My son wants a really cool cake (I think I've set too high expectations, but never mind), so I think it would be a shame to just shove it in the party bag.

So I was going to go with only sweet stuff: fruit kebabs (can 4 yr old be trusted not to poke each other's eyes out?), breadsticks dipped in chocolate and srpinkles, and some percy pigs/jelly worms (DS is never allowed sweets apart for b'days and halloween so I can't deny him that). And then we'll have cake as well.

Is that acceptable over here??

Personally I think most parents would expect there to be some kind of real 'food' at a party no matter what time it is!
If it was me I would provide at least some savouries. You can keep it easy with things like mini sausages, crisps and carrots/baby tomatoes.
I think many parents would give kids a very light lunch and not really expect to have to feed them again after a party.
Think of it as afternoon tea!

I find that the savoury stuff goes down quite well- do v small sandwiches if you do them though. Some children aren't keen on sweet stuff - dd2 would rather have a sausage roll than cake any day.

I wouldn't give mine lunch for a party at that time because I'd be expecting them to get something - I'd probably just just them something late morning to keep them going. Not all children like sweet things - my DD would be most put out if she didn't get a few sandwiches and wouldn't eat sweets or cakes.

I think some savoury stuff is needed - not all kids like cake and sweet things (I am looking at ds!!).
And taking a piece of the cake home is sort of normal for kids parties - I can remember doing it when I was a kid!!

....also the Mums like to steal their children's mini sausages. Its one of the perks of having to attend these things!

Yes to savoury ! Most will think of it as an afternoon 'tea' so I would do say : mini sausages, bread sticks, cucumber and carrot sticks, cherry toms and maybe small slices of pizza ? Oh and crisps, they get scoffed no matter what time of day !
Then I would usually do cake but put sweets in the party bags.

Please dont do kebabs! Sharp pointy sticks?!? Just put out bowls of berries!

You need savouries for sure.

Another yes to savoury. I would just give my dc light lunch and light snack to tide them over around your party with the expectation that they would get tea at yours!!!

It would seem odd just giving sweet stuff without mostly savoury to balance it out.

And I second the no to sharp pointy sticks!

For a 3pm eating time i'd treat anything my children ate as an afternoon snack and still offer them a proper dinner although possibly a little later than usual. My dc's would be perfectly happy with your offerings and so would I. Its your childs party so go with what you and your child want.

Would definitely have some savoury items, in my experience if children are going to a party, they have a small lunch so that they will be hungry and eat the party food. Btw re fruit kebabs, have you thought about using straws rather than wooden skewers? Bit safer at party's I think!

Are you French? If your party was substantially different to the usual manky sausage roll and haribo fest it might be quite nice to get a go of another culture? Tbh, until they get older and have proper meals at parties at meal times I never expect mine to eat anything except a bucket load of party rings.

I agree with Nerf - if you are French do it your way but just go on about it being 'le gouter'.

I would expect to have to give my kids something proper after a party anyway because otherwise they will've had wotsits and rice krispie cakes for dinner.

It would be unusual to not have any savoury stuff but if you wanted to go along that line, you could always put a little note on the invitations stating that due to the time of the party, you will not be serving a full party meal, just a few sweet things.

I think people would expect savoury stuff. For a 2-4 party I would probably give DS a light lunch beforehand.

Maybe just crisps and veggies and dips alongside the sweet stuff? DS is having a party soon and I am going to do a party tea at 3.30pm - not bothering with sandwiches as they never seen to get eaten, but pizza, sausage rolls, cheese, veg sticks, crisps as well as fruit and cakes.

Dc went to a party that just had jelly, ice cream and cake. He loves these things but kept asking for a sandwich. He was expecting a 'party tea', so do what you want but some may be expecting savoury food too.

Ok, thanks for your thoughts. I'll add some savoury stuff to the table . I'm not a fan of crisps and sausage rolls but I think I'll offer some sausages and crudités as well as some sandwiches.

Im going to keep the fruit kebabs though as i think it's so much more fun and likely to be eaten. I agree that straws might be a better idea though, thanks.

As for the cake, I think I'm going to mix the two cultures (yes, I'm French). We're going to eat the cake at the party but I'll make some themed biscuits for the party bags.

Hopefully, that will be ok.