party food on a seriously tight budget

notanewuser

Is it really that hard to avoid pork?!

Surely there's enough non-pork stuff to have?!

gayle1

jelly sausage rolls ham sandwiches sausages on sticks mini eggy things that i dont like ham on pizza normal party food that i like to nibble on lol

PlymouthMaid

I would keep it simple and do veggie for all the food. The kids won't even notice and you can't upset anybody then by giving the wrong things as young kids are likely to eat anything even if their parents would prefer them not to. Make small cakes, chop up pizzas and offer breadsticks and crisps. At young ages it's not so much about a decent meal as having fun and too much food will make them throw up anyway as they all get over excited. Kids adore hula hoops for the fun factor and small cakes and jellies are always popular. I got gelatine free jelly from the Asian section in Morrisons I think.

notanewuser

gayle1 wrote: »

jelly sausage rolls ham sandwiches sausages on sticks mini eggy things that i dont like ham on pizza normal party food that i like to nibble on lol

You can get veggie jelly and veggie sausage rolls and veggie sausages on sticks (or even better cheese and pineapple) and even veggie scotch eggs if you must have them. What's wrong with cheese sarnies?

The "pork" in the things you've listed is likely to be eyeballs, lips and ar.seholes swept off the abbatoir's floor anyway!

got-it-spend-it

I would keep it simple and do pizzas cut up (I would stick to cheese and tomato and maybe put some chopped up pepper and slices of tomato on them too) then potato wedges, either home made or the frozen ones are really cheap. Then you could do a few bowls of dips on the table too- ketchup, mayo and BBQ sauce. I reckon you could either do home made pizzas or cheap frozen ones from Aldi or Iceland and stay within budget.

For sweet you could do some plates of value jaffa cakes and party rings, or make something like Twinks hobnobs and add some raisins or chocolate chips.

happy35

i would keep the food meat free, it makes it easier to meet everyones dietary requirement and is cheaper.

I would do pizza, cheese, pickled onions and pineapple on sticks, crisps, tuna mayo or cheese slice sandwiches cut into shapes, and then either some biscuits or fairy cakes.

Most children wont eat that much as they will be more interested in playing so you should be able to get plenty for your budget

Owain_Moneysaver

Broomstick wrote: »

One way of making sandwiches look a bit more special is to use different shaped biscuit cutters so you end up with stars, teddies, daleks or whatever. The rest of the family have to be willing to eat up all the misshapen leftover edges - including the crusts - in their packed lunches for the next day or so

Alternatively use the leftovers and some cheese sauce or savoury custard to make a savoury bread pudding, much more appetising and economical than stale crusts in lunchboxes.

All I ever ate at children's parties was Wotsits. Anything else was unfamiliar and unappealing.

arbroath_lass

SpecialBrew wrote: »

My daughter has a little Muslim friend who comes to all her parties. Pork seldom gets a mention, but her mum is always very insistent about gelatine and reminds me that she can't eat it every time, which means no jellies and no Haribos.

Are you sure her Mum just doesn't want her eating this stuff?


You can easily make jelly with vegegel or buy vegetarian alternatives in most supermarkets.


Lots of Haribo don't contain gelatine e.g.


http://www.amazon.co.uk/Haribo-Funny-Mix-Bag-Pack/dp/B003X370RM/ref=pd_cp_grocery_0

ethnicbritney

Reading this thread with interest. It's really nice that you're catering for special diets OP. As a veggie you have to be really careful about what products are suitable for veggies. I only recently found out that Fox's party rings (which I loved when I was a child, and were a bit of a treat for me back then) contain gelatine. Similarly I avoid most sweets as they usually contain gelatine but lots of supermarkets do their own version of Strawberry laces which are gelatine free.
As suggested before I agree with previous posters that presentation is key. Novelty shaped sandwiches or hm mini pizzas with smiley faces on make it extra special. And the hedgehog with cheese on sticks as spikes!
Have a fun day. I'm sure everyone will have a great time x

sillysid

why don't you just do chicken nuggets, fish fingers, oven chips, with something junk-like, eg, fairy cake/ice lolly/chocolate/teddy bear crisps...few sticks of cucumber/carrots/ grapes for notion of nutrition, that way hot stuff all goes in oven and you get time to enjoy party. No point complicating at that age - fruit shoot bottle-type squash so it doesn't get spilled everywhere.

for individual boxes, what about the plastic chinese takeaway containers, they are dead cheap in poundies, have sides so stuff won't slide off, paper napkin in the bottom for colour and absorption.