Share your never-fail playdate food tips with Lidl - chance to win vouchers NOW CLOSED

[AnnMumsnet]

We've all been there - trying to find something to cook for your child’s fussy friend during a playdate. Lidl are after your tips and recipes for the kind of food that always goes down a treat when you're having kids over for playdates. Do you play it safe with fish fingers and chips? Or do you have some other less conservative recipes and meal suggestions that are guaranteed to please? Maybe you have a pasta and sauce combo that no child has yet turned their noses up at.

Share your ideas, tips and recipes below and you will be entered into a prize draw where you could win one of five £50 Lidl vouchers.

Thanks and good luck
MNHQ

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I keep it simple so I can be relaxed about it and try to keep component parts as separate as possible so they can pick and choose if needed

But to be honest I usually check before I cook and have frozen pizza and chips ready in case the conversation with the child suggests it's needed

I always ask the parent what kind of thing their child(ren) like or don't like, if there's anyting they don't want them having and if they are allergic to anything as I don't want to give them something which might hurt them or make them ill. Once I know that I usually do a small buffet style spread with the following kinds of things

• Jam/cheese/ham sandwiches
• Fresh fruit
• Yoghurt
• Biscuit OR small cake
• Choice of water/milk or weak squash

I find keeping it simple always works best - nothing too fancy and always keep a couple of replacement items back in case they don't like what you try to provide.

Hot dogs in buns or homemade chicken nuggets with lots of carrot sticks/cucumber sticks/pepper sticks/tomatoes, homemade spaghetti bolognese, mini quick roast dinner (oven baked chicken, diced potatoes roasted, veg and gravy) or homemade pizza with their choice of toppings. Never had a play date yet where one of the above didn't fit the bill!

I've found wooden skewers seem to turn boring food into 'cool' food. Marinated chicken chunks, veg, cocktail sausages, halloumi just ask them what they fancy, thread it on a stick and chuck in the oven. Serve with help yourself wedges and salad.
If I'm continuing my on a stick theme we have strawberry, grape and marshmallows for dessert.

A choice of finger foods - carrot sticks, breadsticks, salads, cheese, little sandwiches, pizza, fruit.

I go buffet style - lots of different plates which the children can pick from - mini pizzas, sausages, cherry tomatoes, carrot / pepper / cucumber sticks, cheese chunks, fish fingers, chicken nuggets...
Then usually fruit for dessert - watermelon, grapes & blueberries are particular favourites.

As part of the play date we make their own pizzas, using a basic choux pastry as the base, and then let them choose their own toppings and they're always devoured.

If it's hot I'll also let them make their own smoothies using frozen fruit.

I let the children help me make wraps
We're lucky enough to live near the shops so we go there first and choose things to go inside the wraps so at least then I know the guest will like what we make !
We buy cheese to grate, cherry tomatoes, cucumber, ham etc and then make healthy wraps
And we always get ice cream for pudding, I let them sprinkle it with hundreds and thousands, reminds me of my childhood !

Houmous is always a favourite... if you can face the mess.... and cucumbrr and pepper crudites and some sandwiches, the simpler the better! My son enjoys baking so we someted make sugar free banana muffins for his guests

I like a "make your own" pizza - so if I am feeling particularly organised I make the dough, otherwise buy pizza bases and get the children to decorate it!

Pizza and curly fries are most requested, we like to build our own pizzas on either homemade dough, wraps, pitta breads or sandwich thins. I think kids are more likely to eat food they have helped create.

Like others a selection of things seems to work. My own child is super fussy so as long as they all eat something I don't worry too much. I also don't buy stuff specially because for there to be a wide range but avoid waste and expense it needs to be stuff we already have in.

Chopped veg crudités style - cucumber, pepper, carrot

Grated cheese (don't know why but they all go mad for putting their own cheese on!).

Pasta. I make it plain with butter but then have choices of things to add from the fridge/store cupboard like pesto, cheese, chopped ham, olives (again a couple have just gone bonkers for olives!), maybe cheese or pasta sauce.

I also have IKEA meatballs in the freezer which cook in 3 minutes as a back up for ds's Swedish friend (seriously).

Pudding is where I can get it back if I need to. There's always fruit and yoghurt available and I tend to chop up the fruit and let them help themselves. In the past I have made a quick banana sponge in a mug in the microwave and served with ice cream from the freezer.

Although if I'm really honest I usually just let them eat as many chocolate biscuits and crisps as they want and make sure all play dates finish before 5pm

I like to do a picnic sort of meal with a few various things plated up, pizza, sausages, carrot sticks, apple slices, breadsticks, cheese cubes. Works especially well if it's a first play date so you can notice what the kid goes for and then build it into a proper meal the next time!

My kids like DIY pizzas when their friends come over. I buy or make pizza bases - kids love them in unusual shapes like star or hearts. I then put small bowls of toppings - cheese, tomato, pepper, ham, mushrooms, sweetcorn for everyone to make their own. We also have DIY ice cream sundaes too where the kids choose from 3 or 4 ice cream flavours and top with various sauces and toppings that I always have in the cupboard. Everyone gets what they like to eat and the kids love doing it too.

I make a buffet style tea with shaped sandwiches using small cutters which seems to encourage kids to eat them. My other fail safe with older DC is to make a thin pizza base and have a selection of toppings. They usually love to roll and assemble their own pizzas, so less work for me!

I usually buy the little individual cheese and tomato pizzas and then put an assortment of toppings out in dishes. The children then get to choice their toppings and make their pizza. This gets them involved with cooking which they love. For pudding we do a take on an Ice cream factory - I give them a bowl of vanilla ice cream and then they choose toppings from a selection of sweets/sprinkles/etc

This is a great play date activity as it takes up time and gives the children a sense of involvement and choice.

A 'make your own pizza' is always popular. Using bought pizza mix, jar of sauce and grated mozzarella and a mixer - it's easy and always gets eaten.

I don't assume all kids will like anything in particular (from the experience of my own 4 DC and many many play date children!!) so usually have the ability to provide any of the following:

Pizza
Fish fingers/chicken nuggets/sausage and chips
Pasta and pesto
A variety of salad/veg
Ice lollies/choc ices
Fruit

I'm another fan of simple buffet food when friends come to play; pasta, ham, grated cheese, carrot sticks, cucumber, peppers. It always gets demolished and enjoyed.

Definitely a little finger buffet crisps sandwiches sausage rolls some strawberries at this time of year. Cucumber and tomato's. Cheese. chocolate fingers or ice lollies . Something for everyone then! Including the adults!

oh yes fish fingers and waffles and peas is our play it safe play date food. Sometimes will go for more of a snacky tea time with a selection of sandwiches - including some less healthy options like choc spread and jam in the mix along with cheese and cucumber, ham, egg etc. Cutting them into shapes with a cookie cutter is a real winner for getting them eaten up!

Usually play dates are in the middle of the day so my go-to lunches always consist of little crackers, slices of cheese, strips of ham or chicken and chopped/sliced fruit - lots for them to pick at and make their own cracker 'sandwich' creations with x

Making their own pizzas followed by ice cream that they can decorate with sauce and sprinkles always seems to work here.

Fish finger sandwiches now dd1 is older, younger we would do wrap pizza or pasta and pesto. Jacket potato with beans or cheese works well with younger one

I tend to stick to home made chicken nuggets served in pitta bread with fries and salad or pizza, fries and sweetcorn.
I once asked a child before they visited if they liked noodles, yes she does said mum and the child agreed. Playdate came i made a noodle dish and said child left it, i asked why as she liked noodles turned out she only liked pot noodles