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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My old favourite is devilled eggs ....boiled eggs, halved with the yolk taken out and mixed with salad cream and put back in. Also Primula cheese squirted onto ham and rolled up.

Bought pizza with selection of extra toppings I add myself so child can choose what they want.

i find getting the kids involved hels, they are more willing to try ne foods and take ride in what they are creating ! we usually make home made pizza or serve finger foods

kids love buffet style - communal sharing of large colourful plates of mini sausages on sticks, pineapple & cheese on sticks, fruit kebabs and wotsits

a BBQ or bonfire - roast small potatoes and sausages. no food left at the end!!

We tend to make our own pizzas when kids come 'round, that way they can choose toppings they like and will eat - it's also a fun activity to enjoy together.

Toddler play dates definitely go best when there's some pizza making involved! They love eating their own creations! Especially if you make faces with the toppings. Whizz up some veg into the tomato based sauce for the base if you've got generally fussy or anti-veg kids. Yum!

My go-to play date food is pizza, with carrot and cucumber sticks, cherry tomatoes and houmous. I buy pitta bread or mini pizza bases, put out loads of different toppings (sweet corn, olives, veggie chorizo/ham, low fat grated cheese, pineapple, sliced, peppers etc) and let them make silly faces.

For dessert I tend do do either fruit salad, strawberries with dips (yoghurt, chocolate) or make-your-own sundae/ banana split with frozen your hurt, sorbet and sprinkles or any left over cake decorations I have in the cupboard.

lots and lots of finger foods such as cucumber pieces, carrot pieces with hummus and natural yoghurt dips and home made chocolate cake right when they are about to home, so they can be hyper at thier own home.

Pizza is always a favourite, alongside cut up fruit... :)

I do a buffet, bit like a party food table. I figure there's bound to be SOMETHING everyone likes! :)

Gnocchi and pesto, plus 'toppings' that they can add themselves (chopped tomato / sweetcorn / halved olives / grated carrot)

I get DD1 (5) and her friends to make cheese and ham spirals. They unroll a pack of ready-rolled puff pastry, smear it with a mixture of ketchup and tomato purée, sprinkle on grated cheddar and chopped ham, then roll it up the other way, slice and bake in the oven. Served with carrot and cucumber sticks or sweetcorn.

Another easy crowd pleaser is macaroni cheese with the option to add sweetcorn/peas/ham/cooked mushrooms etc.

I play safe, with pasta, pizza, chips etc. But have lots of sides to choose from like carrot sticks, cucumber etc, and then they can pick out healthy bits they like.

In my house, it's homemade pizza and salad! I get the kids to help me make it, so they can see what they're putting onto it - so no fussy eaters!

Mini pizzas always go down a treat and easy to make.Sometimes we even make our own!keeps them busy.

I usually put out a number of different things and call it a teddy bear's picnic - even down to laying out a blanket with lots of teddies on. I do little sandwiches, a bowl of crisps, fruit, veg and houmous. They can then pick and choose what they like.

My grand daughters love spiralising potatoes to make their own curly fries (sprinkled with olive oil and five spice powder and oven baked). They also like "alphachips", keeps them busy for AGES cutting letters from sliced potatoes, then rearranging them when cooked to make their own names and lots of cheeky words!

Keep it simple

A little fingers buffet or let them top their own pizza has always worked for even the fussiest of friends over for dinner.

I would sugget having a word with your little visitor's mum before the visit to find out about any allergies or likes and dislikes.

It has to be homemade pizza - they love rolling out the dough and organising the toppings into patterns or pictures!

We have a vegan and a Muslim kid that frequently come to tea on the same day.

Veg fried rice with a side bowl of scrambled egg and separate ham can added to their taste.

I also have Encona sauce and make sweet and sour or chinese style curry sauce for those that want it.

I like to go for healthy nibbles, cherry tomatoes, carrot batons and grapes are always easy to grab.

Homemade pizza is always a winner with their friends!