Children's party catering advice

sooty&sweep

Hi

Personally I don't do sandwiches I've been to too many parties where they are either left, one bite taken & discarded or the filling removed and the bread left. They also take quite alot of time to prepare but aren't nice if they are made too far in advance and dry out.

Children want to grab a bite and then go back to playing.

I've either done hotdogs or plates of nibbly things e.g. little sausages, chunks of cheese, mini sausage rolls , pizza slices, chunks of cucumber, grapes, carrot sticks, French stick, crisps etc.
Jen

katglasgow

I also find they eat very little and sandwiches and usually left and eaten by adults later on that night (good in a toastie bag!). I have found favourite items are crisps (2 bowls, each with a different kind!), iced party rings, chocolate fingers and I also like to do fruit kebabs (melon and strawberry). For older kids I might add in sausages on sticks or sausage rolls.

Counting_Pennies_2

go_cat wrote: »

My son is having a party for 20 of his friends. They are between 4 and 6 in age.

Important question


How many sandwiches would you make

Am planning cheese ham and jam and on white and brown bread.

Thanks in advance :T

I would plan for one cheese and one ham per child, then do 3 jam per child. Jam is always a winner. Seedless Raspberry I find goes down the best.

phill99

go_cat wrote: »

Ooo hadn't considered marmite I love it

Marmite is sauce from the devils own groin.

Savvy_Sue

go_cat wrote: »

How many sandwiches would you make

None at all, as others have already said.

building_with_lego wrote: »

On a table laden with grapes/mini sausages/crisps/other nibbles the sandwiches get ignored, leaving to (in almost every party I've been to!) lots of leftovers.

especially this.

Do really really easy food. Do not even THINK of squeezing cheese from tubes onto celery sticks or Ritz biscuits, especially not squeezy cheese with bits in. It is Hard Work and you need all your strength for the invasion of young children.

valk_scot

Savvy_Sue wrote: »

Do not even THINK of squeezing cheese from tubes onto celery sticks or Ritz biscuits, especially not squeezy cheese with bits in. It is Hard Work and you need all your strength for the invasion of young children.

A woman after my own heart, lol.....:rotfl:

I never bother making anything that involves more work than opening the bag and pouring it out into a bowl or putting it onto a plate. I might just be persuaded to put it into the oven en route but that's it. My particular short cut was the 6" frozen pizzas that you can buy for kids, couple of bags of them cut into quarters are cheap and easy. And frozen sausage rolls, crisps, any of the bite sized cakey things, grapes, cherry tomatoes, one box of bread sticks to appease the Healthy Eating Mum and a big cake that's 90% icing with chocolate cake underneath.

Top Tip is not to provide coke or other sugary drinks during the running around and games bit. They'll be quite hyper enough, thank you very much. Lots of water in disposable cups though. Diluting sugar free squash, orange and blackcurrant, with the party food. Healthy Eating Mum will have left in horror by then so the chemicals won't matter.

Are you having it at home? 20 small boys? Good luck!

building_with_lego

Get a bottle of wine in the fridge before the party- by the time the children have left it'll be lovely and cold

From_St_Neots

With DS1 we learnt that wealways over do the food.

When DS2 had his 4th birthday party last year, we made up a lunchbox for each child asking the parent to specify sandwich filling required form a choice of cheese, ham or strawberry jam when they responded to invite.

The box should what you would should expect to pack for a packed lunch at school etc. We had a sandwich (half), a packet of pom bears, fairy cake, cheese stick, some grapes and a drink.

No one asked for more and very little was wasted, kids who didn't eat all their lunch box took it home.

CATS

Crisps, jelly, biscuits, grapes, strawberries and sweets to stay on the table during the party. McDonalds happy meals when it's time to eat, send hubby and brother out to get them, no work needed on your (my) part or hot dogs and oven chips always went down a treat when my son was little. Even then they didnt always finish the food

skintchick

Pizzas and fruit with ice cream to follow us plenty. My DD is 3 and will eat half to one mini pizza, so I'd allow 3/4 each the round up to the nearest pizza. They're so easy and all kids like them. You could always put done ham out in a bowl for any meat eaters.