LO's bday party is going to be held in the late afternoon/early evening for ~15 adults and 6 kids. I just found out that a bunch if family is going to be staying with us, so I need to go an easy route. I was thinking about appetizers, cupcakes and drinks, but I would love to incorporate some kind of theme. I've heard of people doing a carnival theme with hotdogs and popcorn, but I'm not sure those are the best foods for our guests. I love the idea though! Anyone have any suggestions? What food did/will you serve at your LO's party?
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I *love* the idea of doing a carnival theme for a birthday – Oriental Trading has a ton of cute food-stuff for a carnival theme. Does the birthday have any theme? (I lovvvvvvvvve themed food!!!!)
We did a macaroni and cheese bar for LO’s 2nd birthday. I did the mac and cheese in a deep roasting pan so it kept warm nicely and presented nicely/easily and then had toppings available: ham, bacon, roasted red peppers, French’s crispy onions, peas, broccoli, etc.
We also had popcorn available, which was a big hit.
A taco bar (I think) would also be pretty easy and lots of it could be made ahead of time.Pulled pork/chicken sliders “bar” with traditional cole slaw, pickles, maybe a unique type of cold slaw, red onions, cheese, etc.
Sandwich bar: selections of meats and cheeses with different breads/rolls. Couple of easy salads – cold pesto pasta is great made ahead for example. Maybe with a green salad and fruit salad.
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We grilled burgers and did a build your own burger bar
for lo's 2nd bday i will have a newborn, and we are going to do sandwich trays that we can buy at a grocery store or sams, with a couple easy sides. Most of our guests are adults and i would rather have a casual party with a full meal...less budget for decorations/favors, more for food.
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Our theme was "LO's favorite foods" which turned out to be pretty easy! Mac n cheese, baked beans, hummus (with pitas and veggies), cheese (with crackers) and fruit (skewers)! I also added cake of course and cookies.
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I always suggest Greek bar because its basically exactly like taco bar but its feels way fancier with just a little different seasonings on your end.
- Brown ground beef, ground chicken, or ground turkey with salt and pepper, lots of oregano, garlic, onion, and paprika instead of taco seasoning.
- Serve with pita bread instead of tortillas.
- Serve with chopped tomatoes, onions, cukes, lettuce, olives, and crumbled feta.
- Make a blender full of yogurt sauce (or buy it at Costco)
- Instead of chips and salsa, you can serve pita chips and a veggie platter with hummus.
- Big platter of fresh fruit.Bonus, you can get everything for this at Costco.
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We are doing a taco bar for LO's #2, have the beef & chicken in 2 crockpots and all the sides set up for people to build their own. And then we will do other appetizers/sides as well for people to munch on.
If we don't do this, we will do lots of munchies and get a sandwich tray from Sam's Club.
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I've done several big parties in the past year and the key is to find something where 95% of the prep work can be done ahead of time. Crockpots are your friend.
I do like to cook and so I tend to cater my own parties as it ends up being cheaper (but obviously takes more time). Here's what I've done so far:Housewarming party: Grilled chicken and sausages, various salads, beans in the crockpot, etc.
DS's baptism: Mexican theme with make your own taco bar. I had made chicken and pork in the crockpot earlier in the week and reheated in the crockpot that day. We made another rice dish in the crockpot as well as a corn casserole and heated up some refried beans. Then we had all of the normal taco bar fixings. This is easy as everything can be done in advance and then warmed up or set out right before.
DS's 1st birthday: Italian theme. I made huge pans of lasagna, baked ziti, and just noodles and sauce for the picky kids. Plus salad and garlic bread. Everything can be made in advance and thrown in the oven the day of.
Smaller family outting: Deli tray. It was cheaper for me to make my own deli tray so I just got about 6 lbs of meat and 2 lbs of cheese and arranged it on a tray. Got lot of mini rolls and cut in half.
Plan for DS's 2nd birthday: Chili and baked potato bar. Still working on the details but this is what I plan on doing in November when it's cold up here.
Good luck! Like I said, just go with something you're comfortable with and can be done in advance so that you can enjoy yourself!
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I'm thinking of a world is your oyster/ advebture/ explore theme. It's not necessarily healthy, but using store-bought and frozen apps for foods I don't know how to make is easy enough. Think Indian samosas and Greek grape leaves.
Since you want crowd pleasing carnival type food may I suggest- frozen pigs in the blanket or corn dogs, pop corn bar with a few fun toppings, cotton candy machine or basic cupcakes topped twit a cotton candy "cloud", veggie tray, fruit skewers or tray, soft pretzels with different mustards to dip.
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@yoursilverlining: thanks for all the ideas! I will check out oriental trading.
@Mrs. Lion: a sandwich tray would be super easy. I admire you for even attempting a bday party with a newborn!
@gingerbebe: a Greek bar sounds amazing!!
@LuLu Mom: @MUI831: I'm loving the taco bar idea. Who doesn't like tacos?!
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@Mrs. Lemon-Lime: omg I love this!! I could do a "oh the places you'll go" theme. I need to think more about it, but this could be just what I was looking for!!!
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@Zbug: theme it up!
Guest sign in: All the Places You'll Go book, signature on globe, messages or wishes for baby on the back of postcards.
Favors: cheapo snow globes or with all the kiddos there you can take their pictures and create your own. Where's Waldo puzzle books.
Food: Spanish empanadas, French charcuterie and cheese platter, Chinese dumplings or chicken/ shrimp satays with Asian flavors, Down Under shrimp on the barbie, Mexican celebration cookies, and of course Spanish Sangria.
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@Mrs. Lemon-Lime: that is an awesome idea and menu! So much you can do with that theme!!
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@gingerbebe: That Greek bar sounds amazing! Keeping that in mind for our next party.
@Mrs. Lemon-Lime: adorable theme idea!
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@Mrs. Lemon-Lime: love. Love. Love. Thank you!
for lo's 2nd bday i will have a newborn, and we are going to do sandwich trays that we can buy at a grocery store or sams, with a couple easy sides. Most of our guests are adults and i would rather have a casual party with a full meal...less budget for decorations/favors, more for food.
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