When you are planning your child’s birthday party you typically include the old favorites: carry out pizza, cake, ice cream, sugary drinks, and candy-filled goodie bags. This year try something new and healthy but just as much fun! Here are some party ideas and tips to make this year’s birthday party fun, delicious, AND nutritious!
Instead of ice cream, this year try:
- Watermelon slices on popsicle sticks
- 100% fruit pops or 100% fruit sorbet
- Build your own yogurt bar – offer plain or fruit-flavored frozen yogurt and provide toppings that the children can sprinkle onto their yogurt in place of candy sprinkles. Select items such as chopped fresh fruit (strawberries, kiwi, peaches, etc.), fresh fruit (blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, grapes), coconut flakes, granola, chopped dried fruit, or chopped nuts (be careful of children with nut allergies).
- Fresh fruit-filled Jell-O gelatin cups
Instead of cake, this year try:
- Carrot cake with low-fat cream cheese frosting
- Banana bread
- Baked apples topped with cinnamon
- Cupcakes with a light cream cheese frosting topped fresh fruit like sliced strawberries, raspberries, sliced kiwi, or use small cookie cutters to cut fun fruit shapes. If you’re making the cupcakes in advance, decorate the cupcakes with the fruit just before serving.
Instead of pizza, this year try:
- Finger sandwiches made with tasty flavorful combinations like ham and cheese, turkey and tomato, or chicken – all packed with veggies, of course!
- Sandwich wraps – using whole-wheat wraps, fill with low-fat meats, low-fat cheeses, and veggies, cut the wraps into bite-sized pinwheels for a fun finger food that will be a healthy hit!
- Kid-sized pizza bar – using English muffins or whole-wheat bagels cut in half to use as the “crusts” for kids to create their own pizza. Top with pizza sauce and an assortment of toppings such as turkey sausage, sliced mushrooms, zucchini, olives, pineapple, sweet onions, and low-fat mozzarella cheese. Bake in the oven until the cheese is bubbly, yum!
Instead of candy-filled goody bags, this year try filling bags with:
- Fun art supplies: notebooks, paints, crayons, colored pencils, or markers
- Books
- Nail polish
- Hair accessories
- Small toys
- Small games
- Bubble wands
- Dollar store items or items from the dollar sections at Target and Michaels
Healthy Drinks
- Fruit slushies – combine peeled fruit like watermelon, mango, strawberries, raspberries, etc. and blend with ice for a cool treat
- Creamy smoothies – blend fresh berries, bananas, etc. with reduced-fat milk and low-fat yogurt
- 100% fruit juice
Healthy side dishes:
- Fresh fruit skewers – use a variety of colorful fruit including strawberries, cantaloupe, mandarin oranges, pineapple, kiwi, honeydew, and blueberries (you can also use small cookie cutters to cut the fruit into fun shapes). Thread the fruit onto wood skewers and stand the loaded skewers in wide-mouthed vases or deep bowls. If you’re hosting the party in the summer, store the skewers in the freezer before the party to turn the fruit kabobs into a frozen treat.
- Fresh fruit kebobs drizzled with chocolate
- Rainbow colored fruit and veggie tray with light dressing and yogurt for dipping
- Whole-grain crackers or popcorn for snacking
- Chocolate dipped strawberries – skewer large strawberries onto sticks and dip the tip into melted chocolate, or lightly drizzle strawberries with melted chocolate
Always be aware of allergies!
Ask parents ahead of time whether their children have any food allergies or intolerances, and plan your menu accordingly. Take special precautions as you prepare the food, such as carefully cleaning knives and cutting boards to avoid cross contamination. Take allergies very seriously, since for some kids eating the wrong thing can turn into a life or death situation!
Gabriella Patel
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