I'm throwing a party!

[Liz]

OK.. not really sure if I should post this here or in the general recipes section. Anyway...

I'm throwing a party for a bunch of kids age 6 and under next week (eek!) I haven't really got any kid specific food, not keen on too many chips and lollies and things. I'm making a cool train cake, and there'll be lollies in the carriages, so that'll be it for lollies. I'm also making trifle for dessert too.

But the rest of the food will pretty much be a cold spread. I don't want anyone (ie me!) stuck in the kitchen waiting for fingerfood to warm up. I want to just pull it all out of the fridge and that's it.

So I'm planning to do a cold meat platter, green salad, potato salad, pasta salad, bread rolls, a fruit platter. And if the kids can't find anything to eat in that lot, then that's too bad LOL. The food spread is more for the mums than the kids anyway

So.... any suggestions of how I could maybe present it as kid friendly, or any simple ideas for healthy kid friendly cold food?

And does anyone have a mean potato salad recipe? or pasta salad?

I don't want the food to come from untested recipes! hehe. I trust you girls to have tried and true recipes

Thank you!!

ETA: Oh.. and my main question which i forgot.. is can potato and pasta salads be made the day before?

[Danni]

Yep making the salads the night before is fine, as long as they are covered and put in the fridge.

What about fruit kebabs? Kids love them. Just string some melons, kiwis, bananas, apples etc onto some skewers and voila! You could even have a yoghurt dipping sauce too. Yum!!

You could do funny face sandwiches?

[Liz]

Yeah, I thought of kebabs, but having real little ones there like kayla and even tallon at 2yo i thought the skewers might end up dangerous. hehe. I also thought about arranging their salads or something in faces, but tbh I can't be bothered LOL. Oh wait.. I could do one big salad in a big face... hmmm! I was thinking of individual plates for the kids.. but I'm sure I could design something for a cut salad.. instead of just a big bowl of tossed salad! ooh! I'm excited now! LOL. Lettuce hair, cucumber face, tomato eyes, capsicum mouth... hmm!

I'm also tossing up what craft activity to have. I was actually thinking of getting them to decorate their own plastic cups or something and putting their name on it so they know whose is whose. That should reduce wastage of grabbing a new disposable cup for each drink! But not sure what to provide to do that LOL.

[Danni]

Are you sitting the kids at a table? You could cover the table in plain paper or butchers paper, and get the kids to draw on it? And yes, they could decorate their own cups with their names. (GREAT way of reducing waste! )

[Nai]

Crudites are great for kids with avocado dip or the like. It's so easy to just chop up a whole lot of vegies and the kids will help themselves - carrot, capsicum, celery & cucumber are always good. Also little cheese cubes are a hit.

[kawazuki]

fruit kebabs are fun
make them on paddle pop sticks.
i did this for my 8yo's birthday they loved it

also make strawberries into spiders or bug with some licorice

make jelly cups with fruit in it that is always fun.

or maybe even get the kids involved in making the fruit kebabs they love doing that kind of stuff

[briggsy's girl]

a tropical fruit platter will be a hit - and you can do similar with this as you're talking about with your salad - any design you want! we had a fruit platter on Christmas day (rock melon, water melon, pineapple, grapes, strawberries, cherries) and it went down a hit - was gone within half an hour (with only three kids, and three adults picking at it!)

kids love fairy bread at a party

popcorn isn't bad if you have air popped not the icing sugar one

fruit juice icy poles for a treat

ummmmm, can't think now! my bro almost always does all cold food for his kids parties - but i've run a blank on what they have!