One of my favorite parts of birthday party planning is the food. I love thinking of cute names to call dishes to go along with the theme. Or, just coming up with a yummy menu of goodies. There are so many sites that you can grab inspiration from. I try to remember a few tips when coming up with my birthday menus...
1. Keep it Simple. There's no reason why you have to have 20 things to eat at a party. The main thing that the kids are interested in is the cake and ice cream, but if you're venturing into doing a few other things, keep it at that...a few other things. To streamline your menu to a few items will make your job that much easier.
2. Finger Food! Kids love finger foods that are easy to eat...and parents do too! It keeps set up and clean up nice and easy, and allows for less utensils to have to buy and use.
3. Healthy Choices are the Best. Now, the kids may disagree on this point, and continue to ask when the cake is being served, but trust me...the party will go better, if you limit the junk food. The kids will be able to interact better, and the parents won't hate you for jacking up their kids on too much sugar. I'm definitely a fan of birthday cake (or cookies, etc.), just balance out the cake with good fruit and veggie options!
4. Use Your Resources! Don't give yourself a hard time if you can't think of a totally original idea. There are entire websites devoted to this subject so use them! Here are a few dynamic sites for you to check out for your next party.
1. Let me just say, Betty Crocker is my friend.
2. Picture Me Cooking is a fun blog that has cute recipes that are easy enough for the kids to try, too. They will love helping to get ready for the big bash! Look how cute these are...
3. Tired of the same old party themes? Parents.com has some really original ideas for easy, healthy and fun birthday parties, complete with recipes to go along with them!
4. Family Fun is exactly that...with more ideas than you could imagine. Check out their amazing birthday cake photo gallery while you're there...you're sure to be impressed!
One thing I love about all of those sites is that even though the recipes look really fancy and intricate, most of them have step by step instructions, (including shortcuts!) to make it easy enough for anyone to attempt.
What birthday party theme do you think would be fun to try?
My favorite from my daughter's childhood was a Beatrix Potter Tea Party. We still look at the pictures and ooh and aah over it all. Fun! I have to go check out Picture Me Cooking now. Thanks!
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