Party Food: What You Should Consider When Feeding Kids

A party just isn’t a party without some great food! While Parties for Peanuts is not a caterer, we love to help party-planners to think of creative ways to enhance the theme of their birthday, holiday, or other party, ensuring that all guests will have a great time! One of the most common questions that we get is “what should we feed the kids?” In a world filled with allergies and lawsuits, here are some simple tips from your favorite party planning team in New Jersey!

Ask a Parent
Our first and best tip for feeding kids at holiday parties is to ask their parents! When you send invitations, consider adding an extra request to the RSVP and ask that parents notify you of any allergies, food sensitivities, or limitations. If you know everyone closely, you likely already have this information, but if not, it can be a good time to get to know distant relatives and your children’s friends’ parents a bit better.

Clearly Label
Some people don’t RSVP, and some surprise guests may show up to make your party even better. How to prepare for this? Label your foods and drinks clearly! This can include everything from the name of the dish to clear labels indicating common allergens or food sensitivities, such as gluten or peanuts. If you know you have a child with a peanut allergy attending, consider clearly labeling any nut-containing dishes with a picture of a peanut as well as words, since people often notice pictures more easily.

Offer Variety
Even for those without food sensitivities, variety is your best bet. This means having a variety of beverages, snacks, desserts, and main courses, if you are serving those. We suggest offering friendly snacks, such as popcorn from our popcorn machine, or renting our cotton candy or snow cone machine. Even better, we can work out colors and flavors to match your theme if you let us know!

A great party depends on many things, and the snacks are one of them! For a great party this holiday season or throughout the year, contact Parties for Peanuts.