Healthy, Yummy, Kid-friendly Party Food Ideas Needed

[MamieCole]

For DS1's 4th birthday coming up in a couple of weeks, we are having a Jellyfish-themed party. It is from 12-3 during the day and we told people on the invite that we'd have lots of "finger food."

We will have 7 kids and 20ish adults. I have the adult food covered, which obviously the kids can eat as well. (salad, cold shrimp w/cocktail sauce, finger sandwiches, fruit, veggies & hummus, etc)

I'm not 100% sure of the eating habits of a couple of the kids, so I am a little worried I won't have enough "kid-friendly" food.

I'm going to make Peanut Butter & Jelly"fish" sandwiches, homemade white bean dip and homemade pita chips.

Any other ideas as to what I could serve that a potentially picky 4-7 year-old would enjoy? Ideally it would be something I could make it the day before.

[ollyoxenfree]

Honestly, the most successful party food I offered for children's birthday parties was also the easiest. They are so occupied with running around and having fun, so I found they never ate the complicated stuff I put out. I was always a little disappointed to scrape into the garbage all the homemade individual pizzas, sandwiches, mini-quiches and meat pies, etc. etc. all half-eaten or with 1 or 2 bites gone.

So I started putting out a big platter of cheese cubes and crackers, one with cut up fruit (watermelon, peaches, strawberries, pineapple) and another with veggies and dip. They would settle down and eat what they wanted, we'd cut the cake, and I didn't feel bad about lots of wasted food.

For a jellyfish party, some jello jelly jigglers cut into fish shapes (dissolve 2 8 oz. packs of jello with 2 1/2 cups of boiling water - no cold water, and then let set before using cookie cutters to cut shapes), or jello-jelly shooters would be fun.

Have fun with the party.

ETA: I guess the jello isn't "healthy", but it is kid-friendly. I know you were looking for both.

[greeny]

So I started putting out a big platter of cheese cubes and crackers, one with cut up fruit (watermelon, peaches, strawberries, pineapple) and another with veggies and dip. They would settle down and eat what they wanted, we'd cut the cake, and I didn't feel bad about lots of wasted food.

This is what I do too.

[MamieCole]

Originally Posted by ollyoxenfree

Honestly, the most successful party food I offered for children's birthday parties was also the easiest. They are so occupied with running around and having fun, so I found they never ate the complicated stuff I put out. I was always a little disappointed to scrape into the garbage all the homemade individual pizzas, sandwiches, mini-quiches and meat pies, etc. etc. all half-eaten or with 1 or 2 bites gone.

So I started putting out a big platter of cheese cubes and crackers, one with cut up fruit (watermelon, peaches, strawberries, pineapple) and another with veggies and dip. They would settle down and eat what they wanted, we'd cut the cake, and I didn't feel bad about lots of wasted food.

For a jellyfish party, some jello jelly jigglers cut into fish shapes (dissolve 2 8 oz. packs of jello with 2 1/2 cups of boiling water - no cold water, and then let set before using cookie cutters to cut shapes), or jello-jelly shooters would be fun.

Have fun with the party.

ETA: I guess the jello isn't "healthy", but it is kid-friendly. I know you were looking for both.

Thanks for this!

Not only great ideas, but EASY!

And I know I didn't define my idea of healthy for this party. Jigglers might not be health food, but they are super fun and just basically sugar and water. And hey, it's a party afterall. I think the kids will love them. I was thinking about making homemade gummy jellyfish, but couldn't find a mold that I liked. Maybe I will do jigglers instead.

I was just wanting to avoid a lot of the typical processed junk I see at other parties like Chee-tos, Gushers, Oreos kinda stuff.

[mum4vr]

I agree w the PPs. Cheese and crackers, fruit, dip-- good stuff for kids.

If you want to make the jigglers, but make them a bit healthier, use knox gelatin and (a strong tasting) fruit juice. We like grape, but it stains. The recipe is the same tho-- it normally calls for 2 cups liquid per packet, so use 2.5 c juice with 2 packets. (Juicy juice makes some nice juice blends...)

Have fun and let us know how it goes c:

[pianojazzgirl]

One thing that has worked very well at past kid b-day parties was to buy a few big rectangular tomato sauce pizzas (we're lucky there's an Italian resto down the street that sells super delicious ones for a few bucks), grate a bunch of cheese on top, broil it, and then cut into small pieces. It's super easy and always gets munched up. Along with that I'll usually do a veggie tray and a fruit tray, as well as a bowl or two of tortilla chips with salsa (usually only the adults bother with the salsa). Works for us!

[Shantimama]

My kids have always liked to dip pita or tortilla chips in a mix of tomato based baked beans, salsa, green onions and grated cheddar - especially if it is heated up so the cheese melts!