Cake and ice cream only birthday party? - Page 2

[laohaire]

I am actually having a hard time picturing someone going "oooh, we got an invite for a birthday party! Oh, it's just for cake and ice cream. Nevermind." lol.

I think by communicating that upfront (not because cake and ice cream isn't adequate, but just in case someone might have assumed there would be more, they could be sure to get everyone fed and happy beforehand) you're all set.

The only party that I really kind of depend on them serving food (and they do) is one where we have to travel an hour and a half to get there, plus their parties last hours (like 4). So 7 hours with party and travel is way too much to not have food.

[ChristyMarie]

I think 2-4 sounds perfect for cake & ice cream.

I often do just cake and snacks.  But I find that at off meal times no one really eats the snacks.  Now I do a veggie tray and individually packaged snaks.  That way there's so much less waste but I do have things out for those who want it.  They usually last for months afterwards - very convenient for snacks on the go. 

My gosh, I never do ice cream - do you think people are offended?  LOL.  ;-)

[gbailey]

Funny and good tip. Thank you!

 

Originally Posted by laohaire 

I am actually having a hard time picturing someone going "oooh, we got an invite for a birthday party! Oh, it's just for cake and ice cream. Nevermind." lol.

I think by communicating that upfront (not because cake and ice cream isn't adequate, but just in case someone might have assumed there would be more, they could be sure to get everyone fed and happy beforehand) you're all set.

The only party that I really kind of depend on them serving food (and they do) is one where we have to travel an hour and a half to get there, plus their parties last hours (like 4). So 7 hours with party and travel is way too much to not have food.

Can I ask which individually packaged snacks you use? Thx.

 

Originally Posted by ChristyMarie 

I think 2-4 sounds perfect for cake & ice cream.

I often do just cake and snacks.  But I find that at off meal times no one really eats the snacks.  Now I do a veggie tray and individually packaged snaks.  That way there's so much less waste but I do have things out for those who want it.  They usually last for months afterwards - very convenient for snacks on the go. 

My gosh, I never do ice cream - do you think people are offended?  LOL.  ;-)

That sounds tasty. Also, love your goodie bag tips. We also don't like to provide dust collectors for the kids. Last year, I found cute reuseable bags at a toy store and I filled them with a Sesame Street toothbrush, two hardcover Sesame Street books, Earth's Best Sesame Street snack, another organic yogurt snack and Sesame Street coloring books, stickers and crayons. I wanted to include a talking Elmo phone too but DH thought vetoed that right away when he saw the price. I love the idea of  an individual craft project too. Just an FYI, if you have a Marshall's store near you they almost always have Yummy Earth organic lollipops for a super cheap price. It took me a solid two months to fill her goodie bags with good stuff at a reasonable price last year. The goodie bag shopping is one of my favorite parts of the birthday party planning process.
 

Originally Posted by The4OfUs 

My standard is usually:

- the sweet treat of the birthday kid's choice

- a veggie/dip tray

- a cheese/pepperoni/hummus/apples and crackers tray, so there's a little protein to offset the sugar.

And that's it.  We had a picnic/beach party for DD last year so we had a little more because we were there for several hours, but it was just a couple light pasta salads and a big fruit salad.  I think 2-4 is a great idea and really signals this is not a "meal" party, so I'd definitely come, and definitely make sure my kids had a meal in them at lunch time and were ready for fun and a yummy treat at your place!

Have fun!!!

PS:  I'll give a plug here for a different kind of goodie bag.  I've had good reviews on the bags I've made recently which consist of a small individual craft project, and a couple yummy eart organic lollipops tied with curling ribbon to tie the bag.  I have even used just paper lunchbags with bright ribbons and it looks super cute.   And that's it.  The parents appreciate not getting a bunch of crappy little trinkets, the kids like the craft, and who doesn't love a lollipop?  I usually find a craft kit at the craft store, scan and print out multiple copies of the directions for each bag, and separate the craft so each kid gets one craft.  

[Peony]

Originally Posted by gbailey 

Thanks for the great replies. DH was especially interested in what everyone had to say. We decided 2 to 4 PM and in addition to the cake and ice cream we'll have food to eat as well just nothing too heavy. Now if only those darn Dora tickets would go on sale already so I can get that out of the way.

Sounds perfect to me. I'm doing this later today for my DD1, 2:30-4:30, cake and ice cream. My standard snacks are hummus, carrots, crackers, maybe some guac and chips, a fruit, and fresh popcorn or pretzels. Nothing fancy, and always stuff I have on hand, oh and some juice. My oldest is 8, we have 3 kids, and I have only offered a meal at a party once, I almost always do from 2-4 so it clear it is not a meal, this party is held at the gymnastics center and the afternoon party slot is the 2:30-4:30 one. For DD1's 4th birthday she wanted it at the center and the only slot then was 11-1pm so I had to feed people, I just ordered pizzas. 

[ChristyMarie]

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I have no idea why it won't let me type outside of the grey box...

I usually get whatever is at Costco when I go.  In the past I've done Goldfish, Annie's (?) Organic Bunnies or pretzels and then I usually do boxes of raisins.  Those are all things my DS likes and I can grab the leftovers when we're heading out and I'm short on time to pack snacks.  Same reason I buy juice boxes - we don't go through much juice so I buy a package of juice boxes and they last forever.  Just used some today because we had a playdate that included lunch and a snack.  I've had them since his birthday in July. 

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Can I ask which individually packaged snacks you use? Thx.

 

Originally Posted by ChristyMarie 

I think 2-4 sounds perfect for cake & ice cream.

I often do just cake and snacks.  But I find that at off meal times no one really eats the snacks.  Now I do a veggie tray and individually packaged snaks.  That way there's so much less waste but I do have things out for those who want it.  They usually last for months afterwards - very convenient for snacks on the go. 

My gosh, I never do ice cream - do you think people are offended?  LOL.  ;-)