Any Suggestions on Food for 1St Birthday/Christning Party?

I was thinking pita and humus. Different kinds of cookies would be great too.
Another idea... not related to food is the entertainment. I just got a lovely video montage done for my daughter's first birthday and love it. The birthday is in October but I wanted to do this right so I got this made real quick. I am planning to show the Slideshow on a big screen TV when the adults are eating so that they can see my daughter's 1st year played to music while they eat.
Don.
PS: her website is www.smilingsnaps.com

Hi! Bj's has Stouffer's mac n'cheese in the frozen section. Two of their trays fill up on regular chafing dish tray. They also have premade pigs in the blanket. They're delish!

What about homemade pizza? You could prepare toppings and sauce ahead and throw them together that morning. Simpler ones for the kids and more exotic choices for the adults? My Stop and Shop sells already made pizza dough (as will most pizza places).

Get some cookie cutters and make some funky grilled cheese sandwiches, and fruit flowers.

they have animal shaped pastas.

you could also let the kids make their own ice cream sandwiches with some cookies, and ice cream and sprinkles

or they could decorate their own cupcakes,
just use food coloring in the icing.

Have fun, good luck and congratulations!!

M

Hey J.,
Im not sure if you have a BIG Y near you...but for my daughter's 1st birthday we went there and got...a 6 foot sub with our choice of meat and all the fixins, 10lbs potato salad, 10lbs macaroni salad, a sheet cake 6 bottles of soda and 6 bags of chips...all for $79.99 I didnt need the soda or the cake so they allowed me to replace it with more chips and 2 trays of finger sandwhiches (egg salad and tuna salad)...Im telling you there was no cooking, no clean up...it was awesome....and a big hit....Just a thought if you have a BIG Y somewhere close by...I think they also have other stuff on there catering menu but we also were on a budget so that was what worked for us!! Hope this helps!!
Meg :)

Chicken fingers are always a BIG hit with kids.

If you are a member of a Costco/Sam's Club you can buy them in bulk for about $12.00 a bag. We just had our daughter's 3rd birthday and we bought 2 bags of them and there was plenty. I also cooked ziti and meatballs and had a 6ft hero ordered. There was more than plenty food and it was done a budget as well.

Good Luck

For the kids....hot dogs, mac n cheese, grilled cheese, chicken fingers and fries. Always a hit!! Try V8 Splash Mango Peach flavor, not too sweet and they love it too.

We are doing the same combination party for our daughter. I plan to go to Costco and get the foot long sandwiches, fruit and cheese. I like the idea of the grill cheese sandwiches with the cookie cutters, but I'm not sure I would have enough time to get that creative. Other friends have done chicken fingers and mac and cheese for the kids.

Kids like hot dogs, chicken fingers.. and fries...( if the kids are old enough.. chicken wings are another great choice)

All keep well in chafing dishes, and can be prepared in the oven. Just bread and bake some boneless skinless chicken breasts ( you can get them on sale for $1.99/lb on and off.. and cutting up steak "fries" and baking them works too.

There is nothing wrong with baked ziti.. You have a lot of adults coming, and your menu should focus on them, because kids never eat at parties anyway.. till the cake comes out!

check out www.allrecipes.com for great party food suggestions.

chicken nuggets. or the dinosaur shaped ones for the kids. maybe french fries too.

Appetizers are great everybody loves chicken wings.

I think that ziti or other pasta caseroles (lasagna etc) is great for kids! You could also do "adult" dishes and make a big macaroni and cheese for the kids--watch out because all of the adult men will do that too. Congratulations on the first b-day and christening!

Around my house Ziti ( it's cheap) is kid and adult friendly. It can be made ahead of time and then baked that day. I haven't had a kid turn it down yet and if they can shake on their own grated cheese they like it even better! We do BBQ most often for our parties (we love having lots of people over for any occation!) and the old stand by of hotdogs is often a big hit. It all depends on the "feel" of the party. I only do relaxed, jeans and a tshirt parties so if you want more classy sorry this won't be any help!!! :0) !!!!!! A.

J.,

I know exactly what you mean..."life is pretty busy". I have a 2 yr old (2 yrs. 5 months) and a soon to be 9 month old. Both girls. Single parent who works full time. I just christened my baby on Easter, but I did lunch after the service at a hibachi style restaurant. However, since you are doing your function at home. I would suggest to do wings. Do work for kids and adults. You can also add a variety of dipping sauces you can make yourself (or buy in the store).

Good luck! And congrats!!

KA

it seems everyone has great kid ideas for food but for adults, go to BJ's and buy their big bag of frozen swedish meatballs, serve them with the jarred Heinz Turkey gravy and egg noodles...it is such a DELICIOUS dish that ive made for big parties and people thought i made it myself!

I am having the same for my son in June. I am also a full time working mom with two kids 10 month old son and a 5 year old girl. I am making a simple backyard hamburger and hotdogs. MY theme is Yankees so I am doing ball park food cheap and goes a long way. Good Luck. I read making Icecream sandwiches are a Great Idea! I using that one. :)

Crock pots with progresso soups.

Finger food. Chicken fingers, tater tots. With different "dips"

Check out your local food warehouse, like Sams Club or BJs and see what you can get a nice big bag of that all you need to do is heat up.

A delicious, and different main dish that kids and adults will love: Buy turkey filets (no thinner than 1/2 in. thick). Warm up your grill, meanwhile, in a large bowl make marinade of equal portions of olive oil and soy sauce, mix with whisk. Toss in the turkey filets 5 min. before grilling and cover all meat surfaces with marinade. Grill and display on a large platter and serve with a store bought or homemade honey-mustard dressing. This can even be done the day before and warmed for the guests. It sounds so simple, but it is wonderful. All guests will enjoy this. We used to serve this at all kinds of get-togethers and parties when we entertained while my husband was in the Air Force. I learned it from a Whole Foods chef in a cafe in Dover, DE. I even like it served with ranch dressing (not from the bottle, from the mix in the paper package). Good luck with your party.

Look for a sale on filet mignon( yu can get it for 7.99- 9.99 a pound when on sale in Kings supermarket. Salt and Pepper it , and throw it on the grill or oven- slice it up and your done. Make some pasta salad with mozz balls, tom, and maybe some sort of rice ( can even be rice r roni . Voola a nice addition to the cold cuts!! Good Luck

How about sliders..(small burgers) they are kid and adult friendly finger food. I have a recipe for a pulled pork I make in the crock pot..It is cheap and it goes a long way. Good luck.

Stick with the appetizer type thing, and add bbq meatballs and/or bbq little sausages. Everyone likes those! All you have to do is throw them in a crockpot and you're good to go.

Hi there! We did the exact same thing when my 2nd daughter turned 1! We made a ton of meatballs before hand, or you could buy them in bulk. Then looked for different sauce recipes. We had standard red sauce, swedish, and cranberry. We set up 3 crock pots before we left for the christening and when we got back they were ready to eat! We also had homemade mac n cheese for the kids and rolls with salad and veggies with dip. It was a hit and the frozen leftovers were excellent dinners later on!! I know the cranberry sounds yucky, I thought so too, but it's wonderful and different and I have made it for several functions since. We had a wonderful day and I hope you do too!

I always make a big batch of CHICKEN RIGGIES when I have a crowd over. Many people have never heard of this dish - it is a local favorite in central NY. It's rigatoni & chicken (is that vague enough?) Not to toot my own horn - but I created my own recipe for them that is really great and everyone raves about - I'd be more than happy to share it with you - most of the kids really enjoy it too. The ones that don't are the ones that only eat peanut butter and jelly sandwiches! :)

It's is fairly easy to make - not too expensive- feeds a lot of people and can be done ahead of time. I make mine in a big roasting pan. I serve it as a main dish with sides of antipasto and bread. I also make cupcakes so that I don't have to worry about cutting a cake and serving it. Makes the day of the party go easier.

Send me a message if you want the recipe! :)

We did a sub tray but did all wraps from Subway. They're pretty cheap to begin with but we also had a coupon for their party platter. For my daughter's first birthday my husband cooked chicken thighs, hot dogs and burgers on the grill. Either of those are good for adults and kids.

Hi J., Congratulations in advance for your daughter's B'day and Baptism. I think Chicken nuggets and fries or Pizza for the children would be real kid friendly:-)Grandma Mary

Great idea as I did the same for my eldest 4 1/2 years old and now a big sister to my 2 year old daughter. Some fabulous resources are foodnetwork.com, recipies in Parents, GoodHousekeeping and Family Circle magazines.
Classic dish for adults and children-Baked mac and cheese.
As far as the sandwiches, go with wraps cut in half and held together by toothpicks. Instead of mayo & mustard, use cream cheese or hummus.

Have a great day!

I would have people bring a hot dish to pass. I just went to a 2nd bday for one child and joint christening party for the second child, and we all brought a dish to pass. It went over very well!

Macaroni and cheese with vegetables(cut corn, peas, zucchini) on the side. I was amazed at how much everyone loved it at a party we were at.

Maybe you can do 2 large pizza pies for the kids and have the slices set up on the plates before the kids sit down. For the adults how about a shephard's pie which is so easy to make and a tray of chicken cutlets or ziti. I think that's pretty easy to make and won't cost much either.
Hope this helps.
-M.

Hi J.,

We just had my daughter's 3rd b-day party this past weekend, and the menu consisted of the following (all home-made, but I must admit my mom made a couple)
-lemon chicken (cut into smaller pieces, like the size of tenders)
-tortellini with garlic & oil, marinara sauce on the side
-cocktail meatballs (Sandra Lee has an excellent recipe called
"marmalade meatballs" that everyone devoured - very easy to make!
-sausage and peppers with rolls
-tossed green salad (I threw some diced pepperoni and provolone cheese
along with everything else for extra fun)
-big tray of Stouffer's mac&cheese
Hope this helps! Have a great time at the party!

Hi,
CHicken Marsala is extra easy and so i chicken parm. Also, for my son's third birthday just two weeks ago I made chicken and beef kebabs (spelling?) - extra easy, cooked on the grill, light and everybody raved about them. Let me know if you'd like recipies.
K.