Kids' party food: Please help me build a checklist!

[mradambarrett]

I'm building a checklist for organising food for children's parties, and am hoping to get some input from other mumsnet mums.

What does one need to consider? I am thinking things like budget, hygiene, health, how much food to provide, allergies, vegans and vegetarians, religious restrictions etc.

All comments will be much appreciated!

Sandwiches crisps biscuits vegis birthday cake
DON'T FORGET BINBAGS
And try not to sneeze on it

Skip the sndwhiches. Young children never eat them.

Sausage rolls /veggie sausage rolls work well for savoury bulk. Fish fingers have gone down surprisingly well too.

Party rings, you cAn't have a party without party rings.

Is this a business idea? Maybe do a "basic" list at a basic price, and have additional items at additional cost.

Chicken goujons
Sausage rolls
Mini sausages
Crisps ( usually onion rings/frazzle types)
Cut up pizza
Grapes
Party rings

how old are the children?

sounds ridiculous bubble wrapping but for younger children whole grapes are a chocking hazard. sorry.
grapes to be cut in half lengthways.
not joking

get popcorn, everyone loves popcorn

Sandwiches - keep them plain and simple - , cheese, ham etc. Also, I used to use biscuit cutters ( round and teddy bear shaped) to make them more interesting

Crisps - Pom bear crisps are always popular

Carrots - cut up

Sausages - cut up or small sausages

Pizza - cut up

Cherry tomatoes

Chicken nuggets

Jelly and icecream

Fairy cakes

Party rings

Chicolate brownies

All party food must include halved cherry tomatoes, halved grapes, carrot sticks and cucumber sticks. This is not for the children. It is to appease the judgy parents who are worried about healthy options.

30% of the children will snatch everything, pile their plates high, grab more stuff, panic like food is going out of fashion. They won't eat it all - but you need to be ready to provide lots and throw away lots. One way around this is to give each child a prepacked party food box.

The parents eat the sarnies while helping to serve the children. They will feel guilty but famished. Either provide separate parent food, or let them know there is plenty for everyone and they can help themselves.

That's harsh and you are being quite judgey yourself actually.
a lot of kids do like and will eat carrots and tomatoes and cucumbers and grapes. nothing weird about that.

Of course there is nothing weird about eating fruit and veg - I didn't say there was.

for my daughters last party she requested pizza, tomatoes, cucumber, grapes and crisps. went down well with hardly any waste. then each child got a cake pop

also been to a few parties where they had cooked tinned hotdogs in thermos flasks then put in rolls. went down v well with the children

well you said fruit and veg were not for the kids but for show.

Thanks so much everyone. The debate about choke hazards and thoughts on fruit & veg are particularly interesting - It's great to hear people being so passionate about the subject.

I should give a full disclaimer and point out that I am not gathering these views for my own particular party - I am putting together an article that I will be publishing and sharing with family and friends, and anybody else who might find it useful. I shall share the article in this thread when I am finished for those who are interested.

Please do keep the opinions coming! What do people think about drinks? Juice / pop / milk?

Fruit shoots, then they don't spill when you knock them over. Only time my dc ever have them!

I'm with Zing on the cutting grapes and cherry toms. And my kids will eat grapes at a party but do tend to ignore the carrot sticks!

If you have an aversion to fruit shoots, most supermarkets do plain bottled water in small bottles with sports caps

If you must make sandwiches, many children don't like butter in sandwiches, so make some without. And lots don't eat crusts.

Actually: Sandwiches are a PITA. Avoid if possible. Chicken, sausages, pizza are all easier.

Not all children drink water and not all children drink juice. Little bottles of water with sports caps are easy.

Have a set of name labels handy to stick on bottles as they are handed out, to avoid waste.

The uneaten carrot sticks will be hoovered up by the ravenous parents.

Snacks for parents aren't compulsory, but as many parties take place at meal times, are a nice touch.

mradam

grapes being a choking hazard is not a debate. if a child chokes on one and try to cough it up as the oesophagus contracts it will squeeze the grape but won't necessarily push it up (like it would do with a button or a marble which are hard and actually easier to get rid of - and I'm talking from experience)
depending on the size and shape a whole grape is almost like a perfect plug and might not budge.
same with cherry & plum tomatoes.

hard bolied sweets are also a choking hazard (and should be banned for that reason alone IMO)

sorry OP about all that, but two of my children have had incidents of choking where they could have died if I hadn't acted quickly.
Maybe I am more pre-cautious then the average parent, I don't know. But when a child is properly choking it is truly one of the most horrible things to witness and just so bloody scary.

I'd rather spend an extra few minutes on food prep

The most important thing to remember is candles for the birthday cake. I've forgotten them twice.

Some super tips here folks!

nocutsnobuttsnococonuts
Hotdogs in a thermos flask is a rather cunning idea. I will be sure to mention this in my article :-)

ZingDramaQueen
Thanks for elaborating on the choking danger of grapes. I guess the debate is regarding what age the danger 'goes away'..

You said 'sorry OP' with regards to boiled sweets, however I can't see who you might be referring to. Has the post since been removed?

Slow cookers are also popular for heating hot dogs around here. Easy, as you can plug them in anywhere and they are large enough to hold plenty of hotdogs.

I'm doing filled card lunch boxes for ds's party due to lack of space at the venue.