Beyond Biscuits and Cake: Preparing the Right Food for a Kids’ Party

Last updated on May 5th, 2024 at 01:44 pm

There is so much to consider when you are trying to create the perfect children’s birthday party. You’ve got to make sure you get everything right, make sure the games and entertainment are top-notch, but you have to remember that the one essential component that makes or breaks a birthday party is the food. When you are getting a party together, there are so many different things to consider, and with every single worry, there’s plenty of solutions. Let’s show you some of the most common concerns, and how to solve them. 

The Sugar Dilemma

You want to have a healthy party, but also realise that children are pretty much going to go for sugar in every single form! It is your call as a parent, but one of the best approaches is to have sugar as a side dish rather than the main event so you can limit the proportion of sugar to savoury. One of the best ways to do this is to only have the cake as the sweet component of the birthday party, but also think about the party bag. The party bag can have a number of nice additions, like American sweets, but that way, you are minimising sugar at the party. 

Staying Within Budget

The best approach to making sure that your party stays within a budget is in how you prepare the food. You will have spent enough money on the venue, presents, and everything else, and this means that when there’s not much budget left for the food, you’ve got to rein it in. You can do this in a number of simple ways. First of all, the best way for you to save money when it comes to food is to prepare it yourself! Also, you can find low budget recipes for meals online, and, the most important to remember is that bread is your friend! As far as kids birthday parties are concerned, it is important to lay on enough food, but there is no need to go overboard and over-sophisticated. You can easily make a number of different sandwiches to cater for every dietary requirement and have crisps bought in bulk for cheap. But also, think about the age of your party attendees. When they’re really young, they may not necessarily think about having food, in which case, a nice spread of sandwiches, crisps, and plenty of squash and water will do the trick!

Have Something for the Parents

You know that if you have something for the parents, they will love you forever! You don’t have to go overboard for them, but just make sure there is enough for the parents to have as well. It is a very tricky one to gauge, because many hosts will just put on food for the children, and not think about the parents. Sometimes the parents would have eaten something before they turn up but this is where having something slightly substantial will be useful. Usually, the parents will just eat the things that the children don’t touch, but when in doubt, have a couple of crisps and dips ready, especially something filling like hummus, because it will keep the parents going, especially if they are tired after all that bouncing on the bouncy castle! Also, think about having enough liquids for the parents to rehydrate!

Catering to Every Dietary Requirement

This is one of the biggest headaches parents have these days. One child can be lactose intolerant, yet another can be allergic to nuts, and when you are purchasing food from the local supermarket, you’ve got to be vigilant and check each item may not have the “may contain nuts or seeds” description on the back. If you are concerned about any dietary issues, the best thing to do is to make this loud and clear on the invitations upfront, and then you can set up a special plate for the child or children. Likewise, if you are expecting a number of vegan children, you can navigate around this by making dishes with non-dairy products that everyone can eat, like vegan cheese spread, which are easy to find at local supermarkets, but there are also things you can make yourself. For example, these no-bake oat bars are full of fibre and tastes like a sweet treat.

A children’s birthday party is one of the things that can be overwhelming in the planning, and the expenses, and this means that we do tend to overlook the food aspect of things. But if you want to do it right, and within budget, think about these few things.

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