Whether you are inviting lots of other children or not, there may be a number of adult guests at the party as well, including relatives and parents of your child’s friends. It takes a certain degree of skill to plan food that will be eaten by both adults and children. Generally, finger foods are among the easiest of foods to serve, since they are low-mess and do not require silverware. And face it—when a lot of children are in the same place, they want to get up and play, not sit to eat.
As shown by this inventive mother, you can make finger foods refined enough for adult taste while still maintaining that “cute” vibe for your child’s birthday party, without much trouble at all. Black olives stuffed with cream cheese can become miniature penguins, carrots can become roses, and celery can be filled with peanut butter and topped with a miniature sail to become a raft for all sorts of treats. All it takes is a bit of imagination.
If you are lucky enough to own a spiral cutter, you can create a long spiral of potato, carrot, cucumber, or any other veggie or fruit you can think of, and combine them to create a multilayer and multicolor treat for dipping. Just be sure to fry or bake the potato after you cut it. With a little embellishment, you could even create a centerpiece reminiscent of a caterpillar.
Sandwiches can be good, if you watch what you put in them. A meat and cheese sandwich does well, as long as you use mustard or mayo to glue the fillings to the bread. Peanut butter and jelly is fairly safe, but you may end up with a few messy younger children.
Dipping vegetables of any kind are great, but many children are very resistant to the idea of eating them. To solve that problem, take a few stalks of celery and place them in a cup of water, along with a teaspoon or so of food-safe coloring. After a day or two, you should notice your celery is turning the color you put in the cup. After it reaches the desired shade, you can put it back in the refrigerator until the day of the party. Most children will want to try it, especially if you make up an interesting story to go with it.
Most importantly, do not serve younger children food over a floor that is hard to clean, like carpet. In the kitchen or outside is the ideal place, since even low-mess foods can be a mess after being dropped and stepped on. Basically, serving any food at kids birthday party that requires the child to sit down and eat may be a bad idea, since they will want to get up and play, so remember that when planning.
