So, here are the answers from those who answered my facebook page - thanks Abi and Jennylee for your interaction. :-)
- Fairy bread, party sausage rolls, cocktail frankfurts, fruit platter (grapes, orange, kiwi fruit, watermelon are usually the favourites here), cheese cubes, cabana, cucumber and baby tomatoes
For those wondering, Fairy Bread is pictured below - sliced bread, buttered and covered with sprinkles.
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| I had to use Google to find out what fairy bread was... |
My research suggests that Cabana is a Polish Sausage. (Jennylee, if you read this, then please correct me if necessary.)
What would I suggest? Well, for my son's birthday, we supplied the following:
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| Not the party tea we supplied, but you get the idea... |
Cheese / Ham sandwiches. (I buy a loaf of brown and a loaf of white, and use a slice of each to make two-tone sandwiches.) Sausage Rolls, Cocktail Sausages, Cucumber Sticks, Cherry Tomatoes, pizza slices, crisps (cheesy puffs, and some other type, like Hula Hoops,) Chocolate finger biscuits, party rings (because they remind me of parties from my childhood,) mini muffins,slices of fresh apple.
This was enough to serve 30 children (and hungry parents who tucked in once the children had finished), and worked out to be quite cheap.
Pros - everything is done in advance, nothing needs cooking or heating up at the venue. There's a choice, so most children will eat AT LEAST something!
Cons - preparation - making the sandwiches, having everything ready on plates, buying a variety of items. The potential for waste.
What else have we experienced?
Takeaway Pizza.
This was the easiest option ever! Phone up your local Pizza Place. Order enough pizza for lots of hungry children, arrange to have it delivered at the desired time.
Pros - how easy is this? You just need some paper towel to serve it on, and off you go! Most children LOVE pizza.
Cons - Not ALL children love pizza. Deliveries aren't always on time. (When my son attended a party where this was done, the delivery was 30 minutes late, and the hired entertainment didn't entertain while they were waiting!) You need to think carefully about how much to order, to make sure there's enough for everyone. Can work out expensive.
Fishfingers/chicken nuggets and Chips.
Quite a few parties are now happening over lunchtime. (My preferred time is 11am-1pm, as it does encompass lunchtime, so children are hungry.) It's quite nice for them to have a meal which fills them up. This option works well for that.
Pros - child friendly food. Easy to prepare in large numbers. Fills children up. Not too costly - just remember the ketchup!
Cons - Logistics. You need to have a friendly relative who can cook everything at home and transport to venue as speedily as possible, or else a venue which has cooking facilities. You need to consider health and safety with moving hot tins/trays around. The washing up!
Lunchboxes
This option is becoming more popular. Buy a job-lot of cardboard lunchboxes, pack a lunch in them, pop them on the table (or floor, depending where you'd like to eat) and let the children unpack and eat!
Pros - Everything is organised, less possibility of over-catering, less mess. Easy to prepare.
Cons - These boxes take up quite a bit of space once assembled - with everything else you may transport for a party (unless you've booked an amazing party host, like er... PartyEase Portishead) you need to consider this. Lots of rubbish - 30 boxes? An outlay of about 30p per box, before you put anything in it...
I think that the most important thing to remember is that it doesn't have to be elaborate. Children are hungry, and so long as they like it, they will eat it!
I would love to hear of any other party food suggestions you may have. Please leave a comment below.
Thanks.
(By the way... Messy Play went really well. Thanks to those who attended. Photos can be found on Facebook.)
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