Foods for 2 Year Old Kids' Birthday Parties
Your 2-year-old child's birthday is a milestone. By the age of 2, young children can walk, jump, climb and speak several short sentences. It's also an age where children to tend to enjoy the party more than they were able to at one. To mark this milestone, you're probably planning a celebration full of birthday surprises. Serving age-appropriate foods will be an important part of the party. Does this Spark an idea?
Finger Foods and Individual Drinks
Finger foods are easy for toddlers to hold in their small hands and thus are excellent choices for a 2-year-old's party. Finger foods also tend to make less of a mess than meals such as spaghetti and meatballs or macaroni and cheese.
Make finger sandwiches filled with child favorites like ham and cheese or peanut butter and jelly. Use cookie cutters to make sandwiches in enticing shapes to match the party's theme. For example, use fish cookie cutters for an underwater-themed party or crown cookie cutters for a princess party. Other finger food items could include fruit cups, sliced veggies with dip, small crackers and cookies and miniature pizzas.
To prevent drink spills on clothing and floors, provide kids with individual milk and fruit juice boxes.
Cupcake Cakes
Cupcake cakes, also known as pull-apart cakes, consist of small cupcakes but resemble whole cakes. Cupcake cakes are suitable birthday desserts for young children's parties because parents will not have to worry about the dangers of leaving a knife around. Instead, individual cupcakes are broken away from the cake by hand.
Local supermarkets and bakeries provide cupcake cakes in several designs and characters to correspond with your child's party theme. Cakes can also be created at home with a simple recipe, such as an Elmo cupcake cake (see Resources).
Other Things to Consider
Some toddlers may have allergies to certain foods. Common food allergies among young children include shellfish, milk, fish, soy, peanuts, eggs and wheat. If you feel it will be a concern at the party, consult with party attendees' parents. Never serve foods that can pose choking hazards for young children, such as foods in large chunks and hard foods like peanuts and popcorn. Sticky foods should also be avoided, such as chewing gum (see Resources). All party foods should be thinly sliced. For a parents' menu, set aside a tray of lunch meat and cheese and an assortment of salads.
Tags: young children, cookie cutters, Birthday Parties, Finger foods, foods should