Food Allergies and Your Party

More and more children are being diagnosed with food allergies (and among many guests there may be many allergies), thus trying to throw a party may seem daunting.


Parents who have children who have food allergies often avoid having their children attend parties because of the usual allergens present. Let parents know you intend to have an allergy-friendly party, and ask them to please contact you about their child's specific allergies. This will help you choose the right foods to serve at your party. (You may have a lot of guests with gluten sensitivity but none with dairy allergies, for example.)

As more and more children are diagnosed with food allergies, more and more recipes are being made available to accommodate them. Consider some of these ideas for throwing an allergy-free party where everyone can relax and have fun.

1. Gluten-Free Foods

The obvious party foods such as cake, cookies, and cupcakes are usually made from wheat flour, which contains gluten. Some sources say that while most grains contain some gluten, there are grains that are so low in gluten - or contain a different kind of gluten - that people with gluten intolerance can consume them safely.

In fact, other experts say that grains such as brown rice, millet, and quinoa contain no gluten at all. Oats do not contain gluten naturally, but often get contaminated with wheat gluten during processing. Look for gluten-free oats if you want to use them in your party foods.

Here are some ideas for gluten-free foods you can serve at your party.

* Rice or nut crackers and cheese
* Cornbread sandwiches
* Meringue cookies
* Deli meats
* Potato chips
* Rice pasta
* Gluten-free pancakes or waffles (you can use gluten-free pancake and waffle mix, and as a variation you can use the waffles or pancakes as wraps for sandwich fillings)

2. Eggs and Dairy

These are other food allergies you'll see among kids. In fact, some children are exempted from certain vaccinations if egg white was used in the development of the vaccine. Thankfully, there are egg-free party foods you can make for your guests, and there is even dairy-free ice cream made from soy or rice. Try egg-free brownies or cake. For these baked goods, the cake-like texture is achieved with baking powder and/or baking soda.

Dairy-free foods are not quite as challenging - avoiding cheese and milk seems simple. But you'll need to think more carefully than that - dairy "hides" in foods like cheese puffs, popcorn, and even bread.

3. Corn

Corn is considered a gluten-free grain, but it's also a fairly common allergen among children. Rice is considered a safe grain for kids who are gluten-sensitive and allergic to corn. Note that corn tends to be in everything, so avoiding all corn may not be possible (even party balloons may have cornstarch dusted on them). Check with corn-sensitive guests before attempting a totally corn-free party.

In addition to the above, consider nut and chocolate allergies as well. Peanuts are the usual culprit in nut allergies; it's rare for anyone to be allergic to "tree nuts" such as walnuts and sunflowers seeds are often a safe alternative "nut." Carob is an allergy-safe substitute for chocolate and can be used the same way.

Fun Themes For Children's Birthday Parties

Children enjoy playing make believe. They can become anything their imaginations let them think up.

Make believe activities are a good way for children to exercise their creative faculties and allows them to maximize their capacities for creation and discovery  It is, for this reason that themed birthday parties are such a huge hit among children.

It doesn't matter what kind of party you're intending to throw. Any child's party may be celebrated with a theme. In fact, you don't really need to have a particular occasion to be able to host a themed party. If it's your child's enjoyment that's on your mind, you can have a themed party every day for the rest of month, if your budget and energies permit it.

Themes are not exactly gender exclusive. However, there are certain children's birthday party themes that fit girls only or boys only. For example, fairy themes, Disney princess themes and sweet sixteens are exclusively for girls. On the other hand, dinosaurs, trucks, super hero, and aliens tend to be more exclusive to boys.

Other interesting children's birthday party themes include slumber sleepover, circus, under the sea, indian themes, cowboys, TV/Movie character themes (Buzz Lightyear, Scooby Doo, Hannah Montana, etc), outer space, farm animal themes, Star Wars, and others. You can mix and match popular themes if you want.

For a themed party to be successful, the kinds of food you serve, the games you play and the favors you give out should be consistent with your theme.

Hence, if you've decided on a fairy princess party, your food should include things like dainty-looking cupcakes with fairy dust toppings, and your giveaway bags should have princess prints on them. The same goes for cowgirl themes.

You can ask your guests to wear costumes that coincide with your chosen theme to make the event more interesting. If you're not really into costumes and find preparing for this a little tedious, you can ask your guests to bring something or wear something that would reflect the theme.

As the host of the party, of course, your child should be in costume. It's their day, after all, and you want to make the pictures stand out and be memorable. Your baby celebrates his or her birthday only once a year, so why not go all out and make their day extra special?

Themed Birthday Parties for Kids

Parties are always a great way to bring people together for fun. Children's parties are a great way for them to learn to socialize and relate with other kids. If your themed party is interesting enough for them, they'll be talking about it for days on end.

That's why it's important to keep in mind that if you're planning to host a party for children, you have to make sure it holds their attentions for more than just a few minutes to be successful.

One good way to keep the kids interested in your party is to host a themed party. A themed party is easier to pull off because you have only one look and feel to work with. For example, if you intend to throw a fairy themed party for children, the young guests can be asked to come in their favorite fairy/elves costumes and you can have your whole party decorated to look like a fairy castle.

You can also make food that promotes the theme you have picked. You don't really need to come up with new dishes. You can simply rename and decorate regular party fare, like spaghetti, burgers, hotdogs and cupcakes, to make them look and sound like something that would come from the theme you picked.

If you have a Halloween party, for instance, you can renamed spaghetti into 'blood and guts'. (Don't worry. Most children are not usually squeamish with names. In fact, they find it quite amusing.)  If you throw a fairy themed party, sprinkle cupcakes with coconut or sprinkles and call it fairy dust.

If you don't want your guests to spend too much on costumes, you can opt to hold a themed party and not have them come in costumes. It's how you carry out the party that matters. But, of course, getting your guests in costumes would make your party pictures look so much better.

Themed games are always a plus to any party. Again, like the food, you can just rename the games to fit your theme. Duck duck goose can become "princess, princess, frog" for example.  You can also hire entertainers from outside to give your party an extra kick. For a fairy party, mascots dressed as magical trees or older fairies and elves will keep the children mesmerized.

Nothing's to stop the adult guests from joining in, too! A children's party is not just for the children, but also for the young at heart. If you have a themed party, surely the adult guests will also have a great time, not just watching the kids have fun, but also because they get the chance to relive the moment when they were still kids.



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