Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Platters of sandwiches: PBJ, hummus/bagel, cheese.
Bowl of fruit
Bags of chips

Done.

How about sandwiches from Panera or Paris baguette?

No sandwiches

Ok, I'll bite. What on earth is wrong with sandwiches???

Bread next to fillings gets damp, while the outside gets stale.

Anonymous wrote:I do brunch parties - kids love breakfast food (bagels, muffins, croissants, fruit), and we have donuts instead of cake.

We’ve done this too and I like attending those. I can get out of the house relatively early, there’s usually coffee for the adults, which is nice, and then kid is tired out and ready for lunch/quiet time by the time we get home.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Platters of sandwiches: PBJ, hummus/bagel, cheese.
Bowl of fruit
Bags of chips

Done.

How about sandwiches from Panera or Paris baguette?

No sandwiches

Ok, I'll bite. What on earth is wrong with sandwiches???

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Platters of sandwiches: PBJ, hummus/bagel, cheese.
Bowl of fruit
Bags of chips

Done.

How about sandwiches from Panera or Paris baguette?

No sandwiches

Anonymous wrote:We did Panda Express one year to make a change from pizza - orange chicken, chow mein, fried rice and veggie spring rolls. The kids seemed to be happy.

Depends on how old the kids are.

this gets asked every few months and the general consensus is always pizza or chicken nuggets, and yes provide enough for adults, and yes you will probably have leftovers.

I know you said chick fila wasn't an option for you OP, but that has been my favorite for several years. I get nuggets and mac & cheese plus a wrap platter and the mixed fruit. It makes everyone happy and leftovers keep fine.

Anonymous wrote:I would do pizza or chick fil a. Add some fruit. It’s not your birthday OP it’s your kids, so do the pizza.

This. Chicken strips or chicken nuggets are always a hit and they stay good even if they stand for 10-15 minutes while being delivered and the table is set.

Anonymous wrote:I personally hate pizza but I know this is probably easiest.

Would it be a bad idea to get cava or bar taco type food?

I once put out a spread of sandwiches and salad at a my gym party and barely anyone ate. I want to say we took 90% of the food home.

Sandwiches (boys) and salad (girls) might work for teens, maybe some tweens. You don’t want premade tacos, but a taco bar could work for older elementary and middle school. You don’t want any type of assembly line for kids who are second grade and younger, and you really, really don’t want to do that for preschool.

Mac and cheese
Chicken nuggets/tenders
Cheese/pepperoni pizza
Cheeseburger sliders (condiments and vegetables on the side)
Fries, sweet potato work as well as potato
Onion rings
Cheese plate and crackers, cheese dip
Cut fruit, bowls of grapes and berries, cream cheese dip or nut butter if serving apple slices
Carrots/celery and hummus/ranch/nut butter
Chips and queso/cheesy bean dip


Toddlers prefer finger foods and dipping. Preschoolers prefer familiar foods. Early elementary age kids crave carbs, sugars and fats because they’re active. By upper elementary, their palates are starting to widen, and you can get away with more sauces, spices and textures.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You can’t win here. Anytime somebody here talks about serving pizza at a between-mealtime party people start screeching about how this is why this country is fat as hell and nobody needs pizza during a 2 hour window between lunch and dinner.

Op here. Our party is at 10:30. There is no exact end time but I plan to serve food.

What's the age group and where are you serving the meal? In the house with everyone seated, or buffet, or in the yard, or . . ..?

Private indoor party venue. I was picturing leaving food out and allowing guests to eat at their leisure or to take food home if they didn’t feel comfortable eating at the party. Or we could seat all kids at the end of the party and serve pizza and cake.

I think that if anyone is uncomfortable enough to want to take their food home, they're going to be uncomfortable being at a party where other people are taking their masks off and eating.

I'd do something that's time limited and seated (e.g. pizza, nuggets, bagel bites), and cupcakes instead of a cake so that if someone chooses to leave at the beginning, they could take one.

Sliders, chicken tenders, mac & cheese, and chicken skewers are also easy kid-friendly foods. (My kid doesn't love pizza, either, so we've always had to find alternatives.)

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Seat all kids and serve pizza. Don’t give this anymore thought

+1. I also liked the idea of bagels/mini muffins/fruit for that timeframe, but pizza is easier and probably cheaper, and the parents will probably appreciate not having to figure out lunch after the party.

Bagel bites! Everyone wins

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You can’t win here. Anytime somebody here talks about serving pizza at a between-mealtime party people start screeching about how this is why this country is fat as hell and nobody needs pizza during a 2 hour window between lunch and dinner.

Op here. Our party is at 10:30. There is no exact end time but I plan to serve food.

What's the age group and where are you serving the meal? In the house with everyone seated, or buffet, or in the yard, or . . ..?

Private indoor party venue. I was picturing leaving food out and allowing guests to eat at their leisure or to take food home if they didn’t feel comfortable eating at the party. Or we could seat all kids at the end of the party and serve pizza and cake.

Seat all kids and serve pizza. Don’t give this anymore thought

+1. I also liked the idea of bagels/mini muffins/fruit for that timeframe, but pizza is easier and probably cheaper, and the parents will probably appreciate not having to figure out lunch after the party.