What kind of food for children & Adult Birthday Party?!
What kind of food for children & Adult Birthday Party?
In March I will have a family birthday party for 19 family members.
9 adults will celebrate their birthdays that are in Feb. & March. My question is, what kind of fun food to serve 7 children, ages between 5-12 yrs. old. I was thinking of having a round table of food for just the children to choose from. And a different table of food for the adults.
Answers:
You can do two separate tables if you desire. It can be kind of fun to specialize the food for the little ones and not worry about if they will want to eat foods deemed more "adult-like". However, you can save time and effort by trying to do things that would be liked by all. One thing we often do when catering to both adults and children is to cook a ham in the crockpot (not the hams with the bone in it and everything though. The ones you can buy in either halfs or whole. I know they are put out by Schnieder's and Maple Leaf as well as some other brands like store bands and such). Anyway, all you do is throw it in the crockpot (you may need to do two depending on how many people or what else you are having). Maybe you could borrow a crockpot. Anyway, put it in with just an inch of water in the bottom (sometimes I add a touch of honey or syrup to the water). Then turn the crock pot on and forget about it for 6-8 hours. Then have an assortment of buns or croissants. Kids love ham (at least in my family they do) and adults seem to like it too. Someone could have just ham or could choose to make a sandwich out of it. Other than that, finger foods usually work best (hors duerve style) like mini-sausage rolls, mini-quiche, etc. You can usually pick up an assorted box in the frozen foods section. How about a crock-pot (can you tell I'm big on the crock-pot thing, lol?) full of those cocktail sized meatballs. They're usually pretty popular. Kebobs are always fun (fruit or meat or veggie). I think the fruit platter and vegie platter with dip are always great standard items. Fancy sandwiches can be done to satisfy both adults and children as well (PB, PB&J or PB & banana for the kids and tuna, egg salad, salmon, etc. for the adults). If you get your bread sliced length wise at the bakery, you lay one slice flat, put you filling, roll is up like a jelly roll and slice it into little round, swirly looking sandwiches. Anyway, I could go on and on but I won't. I better go do some other things. Best of Luck with your party.
Why don't you make food that is good for everyone like sandwiches (pb&j for the kids, egg salad or something for the adults) veggies and dip, fruit and dip, some desserts. That way you can save yourself time for other birthday preparations.
Kids love hotdogs and chips
.or
Chilli dogs, hoggies, anything that is messy and lots of it.
the problem is you will have to keep the men away they are all children under the skin.
BBQ
Pizza for all!
I would keep it as simple as possible by having finger foods. When you are having that many people to feed it's a big undertaking. If you want to have some hot foods then, make some that will do well in a crockpot. I had a similar situation a while back and I served fruit & veggie platters, a deli tray with meat & cheese, assorted breads and condimants, a crock of chili, a crock of cocktail meatballs and terriaki wings kept warm in the crockpot, and things like that.
Everyone was happy with the variety and I did not have to fuss over things at all so I had plenty of time to socialize.
Enchilada casseroles -- make one without chili for the kids.
OR pigs in the blanket for the kids.
Chili con carne (in crock pot) -- for the adults. (Have chopped onion, sour cream, cheddar cheese & either grn chilli and/or jalapenos on the side, so they can add to their bowl.)
Vegi platter with dip.
Fruit platter with dip.
Guacamole & chips.
Empanadas.
Sopapillas with honey.
For the kids:
pizza
chips
corn on the cob
chili
pigs in a blanket
mac & cheese
fries
meatballs
All types of BBQ
I like your idea of the round table, but I wouldn't seperate the foods. Buffets are the best for a mixed group. Kids like, of course, pizza, hot dogs, and hamburgers. However, serving it buffet-style will allow the adults to grab pizza and burgers if they like, and the children can grab the adult food (baked chicken, barbecue, etc). if that's what they would prefer.