Every party needs food, and it is the food that is remembered.
It does not have to be flash, just memorable.
Cater for your budget only, not the next door neighbours, or catty Jane down the road, who will tell her friends that you had the cheap fizzy, who cares, its about the children having fun.
Savoury ideas for children's birthday teas
And so that when at going-home time some little treasure tells their open-mouthed mum, "It was great - all we ate was chocolate cake!", you can swiftly counter with, "No, sweetheart, we had sandwiches and carrots sticks, too, remember?"
Sandwich suggestions
- Grated mild cheddar and ham. Nothing more than that. I have learned the hard way.
- Doing food in party boxes? You need about five things to put in each box. A small yoghurt and plastic spoon. A cheese triangle. A homemade sandwich. Some chips. Grapes or carrot sticks, maybe. A fairy cake. Chocolate fingers. A pretty napkin. Maybe a hat to wear if you want to jazz things up a bit.
- Small children do like sandwiches cut into shapes with biscuit cutters.
- Or make stripey finger sarnies. Use one slice of white and one slice of brown, fill, then cut into fingers.
- Open sandwiches, done like little boats - which is, basically, finger rolls, halved, then spread with things like cream cheese, or egg or Marmite and then a cocktail stick stuck in top with a little flag made out of a sticky note! Obviously, not advised for very small children who might poke their eyes out.
- Just butter soft rolls, then put ham, slices of cheese, cucumber etc. out in little bowls. Easier than making sandwiches and the children get to pick whatever they like.
- Fairy bread - white and brown bread slices, spread with butter/marg, with sprinkles on top.
- I gave seven-year-olds a tortilla wrap each and put a load of different fillings – tuna/mayo, ham, cheese, cucumber, tomatoes, mayonnaise, crisps and sauce, so nothing fancy – in the middle for them to make up their own wraps. It was a big hit and they all ate well.
- Tiny pinwheel sandwiches, where you flatten the bread with a rolling pin, remove crusts, apply filling, then roll up tightly and wrap in glad wrap. Stick in the fridge for 30 mins, then cut slices so you get a lovely spiral effect.
