Ushering in your baby’s first birthday demands some special menu planning. Before hiring a caterer or resorting to bowls of vegetable puffs, your guest list. Some 1-year-old birthday parties have only babies and parents in attendance, while others feature more family, neighbors or adult friends. Provide plenty of options to satisfy young, picky eaters as well as adult guests.
Types
Most birthday party menus for 1 year olds stay simple. Whole, fresh ingredients, rather than prepared foods, might include various cut-up vegetables and fruits as well as dips like hummus, guacamole, bean and spinach. Breads, crackers, cheeses and cookies are also crowd-pleasers. Accommodate children and adult guests with dishes like pasta salad, fill-your-own tacos or pizza.
Considerations
Your birthday party menu planning should take into consideration special diets and allergies. Rather than cooking many different items, keep some ingredients separate so vegetarians, vegans and people with food allergies can pick and choose what they can eat. Keep bite-sized foods chopped small enough so they pose less of a choking hazard.
Function
Food tends to be the focus at 1-year-old birthday parties because the guest of honor is too young for games. Rather than have everyone sit down for a meal, many hosts provide a table of tapas or snacks so guests can serve themselves. If you have many toddlers or young children in attendance, you may want to set up safe and healthy snacks on the coffee table or another low but steady surface, or you might ask adults to serve their children.
Features
Most baby-birthday menus offer a variety of items, ranging from savory to sweet. Starters might include french fries or bagel bites with cream cheese. Savory entrees such as quesadillas, miniature pizzas or crustless cucumber sandwiches lend a festive note. In addition to cake or cupcakes, you might serve sweets such as fruit salad, yogurt, fruit gelatin or miniature doughnuts.
Warning
Keep foods that are choking hazards up high when hosting parties with many babies and toddlers. The chaos of many hands reaching for food makes it nearly impossible for you to keep track of every young child in attendance.
Photo Credit
- funny cupcake image by coffee break from Fotolia.com
