Hosting: Easy Childrens' Party Food

Very soon most of the kids around the States will be on winter vacation. This means day-in-and-day-out of entertaining them (and maybe some of their friends as well.)

Since they’ll be out of school, hosting a themed kids’ party where they assume the “Little Chef” role could be a highlight of their time off. Let them come up with a theme and suggest foods they want to offer their friends.

To make it a stress-free success, the most important element is to have children’s party food that is easy to make and doesn’t create a lot of work for you.

SHORTCUTS TO KIDS’ PARTY SUCCESS
Focus on kid-friendly food; the kind that doesn’t require cooking from scratch. Short-cuts don’t mean you sacrifice taste it just means you’ll be saving time and won’t have to scratch your head trying to figure out what’s appropriate. Dishes like chicken tenders, mini-burgers, and french fries are easily found in the frozen section of your mercado. These are enough to satisfy their appetite and super simple to bake in very little time.

Read Related: Sweet & Spicy Plantain Chips

STACK ‘EM UP!
You definitely want to offer stackable foods they can assemble themselves. Mini-tacos or nachos are the perfect fun food they’ll love to make and eat. (Taco and Nacho ingredient suggestions listed below.) Lay out all of the ingredients in separate bowls and let them stack in the order they want.

The easy thing about these stackable foods is that most of the individual ingredients don’t require cooking (except for the meat) which can be a simple recipe like picadillo.

Even the beans for the nachos can be canned. There are several brands that make really good black and red beans that are already cooked. All you have to do is warm them up!

Purchase fresh fruit, dry snacks, and cheese slices. They’re just the right items you’ll want to have around when they come back looking for more food!

SOMETHING FOR THEIR SWEET TOOTH
And of course, it wouldn’t be a kids’ fiesta without a sugar rush!

Baking cookies, brownies, and cake and pairing them with ice cream is an affordable option. But, if time and clean-up are more important considerations, you can definitely do yourself a favor by grabbing some really good cookies and kids’ cake from your local grocery stores’ bakery. They’re sure to have a fantastic variety of different goodies.

And even though it’s winter, kids never tire of ice cream cones. A Neapolitan ice cream pint paired with colorful cones will create smiles and finish their evening on a really high, sweet note.

Save the real cooking for a day they’ll be putting their aprons on and cooking with you! There’s a way to make that fun and educational too!

Next time you host a kids’ party and don’t want to drive yourself batty figuring how to simplify things, keep these tips handy and you’ll be set to go.

INGREDIENTS FOR MINI TACOS