Okay, so last weekend, I was in charge of planning the food for my niece’s 5th birthday party. Talk about pressure! It had to be kid-friendly, somewhat healthy (don’t judge!), and most importantly, easy to make. Here’s the lowdown on what I whipped up, and how it all went down.
First things first, mini pizzas. I mean, who doesn’t love pizza? But instead of ordering a massive pie, I grabbed some English muffins, a jar of marinara sauce, shredded mozzarella, and mini pepperoni. I just split the muffins, spread on the sauce, sprinkled the cheese, and added a few pepperoni slices. Popped them in the oven at 350°F (around 175°C) for about 10 minutes, until the cheese was all melty and bubbly. These were a HUGE hit, gone in like, five minutes flat.
Next up, I decided to tackle fruit skewers. Okay, so this one sounds healthy-ish, right? I bought a bunch of grapes (red and green), strawberries, melon (cantaloupe and watermelon), and some blueberries. Washed everything, cut it into bite-sized pieces, and then threaded them onto skewers. To make it a little more fun, I added some mini marshmallows to some of the skewers. Let me tell you, those marshmallows made all the difference! The kids went crazy for them. This did take a little time to assemble, but totally worth it.
Then I thought, gotta have something savory besides pizza. So I opted for mini corndog muffins. Super easy! I bought a box of cornbread mix and a package of mini hotdogs. I mixed the cornbread batter according to the instructions, then chopped the hotdogs into smaller pieces. I filled mini muffin tins about halfway with the batter, then dropped a few hotdog pieces into each one. Baked them at 400°F (around 200°C) for about 12 minutes, until they were golden brown. They were pretty good, and the kids seemed to enjoy them. I paired it with some ketchup and mustard for dipping.
And of course, you can’t have a birthday party without something sweet. So, I made dirt cups. Basically, chocolate pudding, crushed Oreos, and gummy worms. I bought individual pudding cups to make it easier, crushed a bunch of Oreos (that part was actually kinda fun!), and grabbed a bag of gummy worms. Layered the pudding, Oreos, and worms in clear plastic cups. These were super fun and messy, which the kids loved. It was a little bit of a sugar rush, but hey, it’s a birthday party!
Finally, for drinks, I kept it simple with juice boxes and water bottles. Didn’t wanna deal with sugary soda spills everywhere.
Here’s a quick recap:
- Mini Pizzas: English muffins, marinara, mozzarella, pepperoni.
- Fruit Skewers: Grapes, strawberries, melon, blueberries, mini marshmallows.
- Mini Corndog Muffins: Cornbread mix, mini hotdogs.
- Dirt Cups: Chocolate pudding cups, crushed Oreos, gummy worms.
All in all, it was a successful food spread. Everything was pretty easy to make, and the kids seemed to enjoy it. Would definitely make these again for another kid-friendly event. Maybe next time I’ll try adding some veggies, just to sneak some healthy stuff in there!