Toddler Party Food

Tasty Toddler Party Food
Yummy treats for junior party people!

Keep the food very simple for toddlers parties. This makes it easy for them and easy for you.



At a party very young children might not want to eat much as they will be busy playing. It is however best to have a set time when everyone sits down to eat together. This can be around a table but is just as easy if everyone sits on the floor (including parents and helpers).

It is best however to try to stop children from wandering around with food. This might mean just putting some toys away to avoid temptation while the party tea is out.

Please relax it is not your job to provide nutritious super food for your child and their pals so don't get too hung up on what other parents might think. Keep things simple with your toddler party food and don't go overboard with variety or quantities.

The other thing is to keep things toddler size. So cut and chop to make bite-sized snacks and treats.

Young kids in particular like the familiar so stick with a few sensible choices, raw carrots and breadsticks with a dip such as humous, grapes (cut these in half), cocktail sausages, potato crisps / chips, some simple sandwiches and a couple of choices of fancy cake or biscuit. Have simple squash drinks on hand - You may however find that many kids come with their own beaker. You really do not need more than this.

You may also like to provide some food for the parents and children do enjoy seeing Mum or Dad tuck in too. If parents have hot drinks take extra care if there are kids running around.

Toddler Party Food Specials - Pinwheel Sandwiches

These are lots more fun than normal sandwiches

• Medium sliced bread
• 75g Cream cheese
• I tbsp Mayonaise
• A stick of celery cut thin lengthways.

1. Beat the cream cheese with the mayonnaise
2. Cut the crusts off a slice of bread and roll a bit flatter with a rolling pin
3. Spread with the cream cheese / mayonnaise mix
4. Cut the celery the same length as the flattened slice
5. Place a thin stick of celery across the bread at one end of the slice
6. Roll up tightly pressing the edge down firmly
7. Wrap in cling-film and chill in the fridge
8. Remove the cling-film and slice (like a Swiss Roll)

Some alternative fillings:

• Canned tuna mashed with a little mayonnaise
• Egg mixed with a little mayonnaise
• Meat paste
• Jam
• Cream cheese and Marmite

Toddler Party Food Specials - Sausage Hedgehogs

If you think normal sausages are too dull try to present them party style. Its time for the Sausage Hedgehog.

Cover a grapefruit or similar with brown paper or paint it. Add eyes and a mouth / tongue. Then stick in your sausage on sticks prickles.

A sausage hedgehog is even more fun if mum squeals "ouch" every time someone pulls one of the sausages off his back.

Toddler Party Food Specials - Funny Face Cakes

These cakes are always a "must-grab" item for toddler and just show that things do not need to be complicated.

Cakes

• 125g Self raising flour
• 125g Soft margarine
• 125g Caster sugar
• 2 Eggs
• 3 drops Vanilla esssence
• 20 Paper cake cases

Icing

• 250g Icing sugar
• 2-3 tbsps Warm water
• Food colouring

Decoration

• Hundreds and thousands / sugar strands
• Jelly sweets
• Small dolly mixture sweets
• Chocolate buttons
• Glace cherries

1. Place all the cake ingredients in a mixing bowl and beat together until smooth. You may use a food mixer or processor for this
2. Place the paper cases in a bun tin and divide the mixture between them
3. Place in a preheated oven at 180C for about 15 minutes until golden
4. Transfer the cakes in their cases to a wire rack and allow to cool
5. Mix the sifted icing sugar with just enough warm water to mix it in and provide a usable icing paste. If desired add a few drops of food colour.
6. Spread the tops of your cakes with icing
7. Decorate to make your funny faces

You may like to name each cake for particular guests etc

Toddler Party Food Specials - Butterfly Cakes

These cakes look great but are dead easy to make

Cakes

• 1 tbsp Milk
• 3 medium eggs
• 100g Caster sugar
• 115g Self raising flour
• 85g Melted butter
• 15 Paper cake cases

Cream Cheese Icing

• 150g Low-fat cream cheese
• 100g Icing sugar
• Zest of one unwaxed lemon or orange plus 2 tbsps juice
• Cake sprinkles to decorate

1. Whisk the milk, eggs and sugar in a bowl until doubled in bulk.
2. Add half the flour and half the butter and fold in until evenly distributed
3. Fold in the remaining flour and butter
4. Place the paper cake cases in a bun tin and spoon the mixture evenly between them. Fill them almost to the top
5. Bake in a pre-heated oven at 180C for about 10 minutes until risen and golden.
6. For the icing beat together the cream cheese, icing sugar, lemon zest and juice until smooth.
7. When the cakes are cool slice a small circle off the top of each one and cut each circle in half
8. Fill the hole left behind with a dollop of cream cheese icing.
9. Push the 2 halves of your circles into the icing to form "butterfly" wings
10. Decorate with sprinkles

Toddler Party Food Specials - Gingerbread Men
Run run as fast as you can! You can't catch me I'm the gingerbread man!

Do the children know the story of the gingerbread man? Perhaps you could incorporate it into your party tea and at the end offer around a plate of gingerbread men.

Even funnier when all the parents go "ooh" as the kids all take the first bite together.

Makes about 12 gingerbread men:

• 250g Brown sugar
• 250g Soft butter
• 250g Treacle
• 1 Egg
• 625g Plain flour
• 1tsp Bicarbonate of soda
• 1tsp Cinnamon
• 3tsp Ground ginger
• 1/2 tsp Ground nutmeg

1. Mix the sugar and butter together in a large bowl.
2. Add the treacle and egg and beat until smooth
3. Sift all the dry ingredients in another bowl then gradually mix these into the treacle mix.
4. Mix well using a beater or food mixer until you have a firm dough.
5. Wrap in cling-film and chill in the fridge
6. Rolling out - Gingerbread dough is particularly sticky. You might prefer to work with small amounts at a time. Place about a quarter of the dough on a floured surface or a piece of kitchen foil. Place a piece of cling-film over the dough and roll with a rolling pin. The film should stop the dough sticking to your pin. Roll out to slightly less than 1cm thickness.
7. Use a cookie cutter (in the shape of a Gingerbread Man) to cut out as many men as you can manage.
8. Transfer to a baking sheet
9. Bake at 170C for 15 - 25 minutes until the gingerbread is firm to the touch and just starting to go dark around the edges.
10. Leave to cool before removing from the baking tray
11. Decorate with icing (which can also be used to stick on any extras)

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Do you have any good toddler party food ideas?
Send them in to us and we will include them on this page.

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