Healthier Parties for Children

So... the holiday season is upon us.  And what better gift could we give our families than a bunch of sugar-high children bouncing off the walls, then being terrible at bedtime?

Wait, let's try that again...  

What better way to celebrate important holidays than to share thoughtfully or artfully prepared food that is both nourishing and tasty?  

There, that sounds better!

Let's talk about how we can plan a more wholesome party for kids... at school or at home... that is still fun and festive with all the special treats that we love.  BUT... without the junk food fall out that makes us regret even the idea of a party.

This week (2011) I was in charge of organizing my son's first grade Thanksgiving feast and decided to take some pictures and share some ideas that worked.  I've done this before, and feel like I've got a good method that works for the planner, the other volunteer parents, the kids... and therefore... the teacher.

I've worked really hard at introducing a variety of good, whole foods into the diet of my 2 children over the years.  I don't buy candy, we don't snack on chips or bags of... well... bags of anything.  They don't drink soda and they don't even ask for this stuff at the store when we're shopping.  It just isn't on their radar.  But after a year at preschool and coming up to 2 years of public school with my oldest, he has been given alarming amounts of candy and sweet treats as well as snacks that do NOT help him focus or keep a balanced blood sugar.  I've found that by volunteering in the classrooms, offering to help with events and even offering to provide healthy snack lists to other parents, it has supported teachers in making better choices for their students.  I mean, think about it?  What sane primary school teacher would willingly feed something to their students which would make THEIR job harder?  Teachers might think I'm a pain in the arse, but they have certainly been receptive to my ideas and help to carry them out.

One idea is how to throw a holiday party that provides nourishing foods (as well as treats) so that kids can finish their school day feeling good.  Because we all know that it is around the major holidays that kids get overloaded with sugar.  Halloween, Thanksgiving (less here though), Christmas, Easter, Birthdays... all seems like an excuse to sugar them up.

I am going to write about ideas for planning a classroom party, but I think you can get some ideas for parties at your own home too.

Get your teacher on board!

At the beginning of the year, let your teacher know you want to be in charge of planning food for one of the first parties.  The teacher will send out requests for help and get you a list of names with phone numbers and emails.  (Teachers like help, and like healthy kids.  Even if they think you are a little bossy at first, a nice, well-organized party and mellow kids will win them over.)

Plan the menu!

Yes, you decide what would be appropriate.  With littles from preschool through 4th grade, they like the most simple food.  Further down I talk more about the categories you'll want to include and more specific ideas.  But basically, decide WHAT you want, how much of each and how you want it presented.

Delegate with clear instructions!

You have 2 choices here.  You can call up all 10 people, and play phone tag for 2-3 days about what people can bring.  This works, but it's a hassle.  OR... you can use Google Docs!

Click HERE to see an example of a simple template that I use.  You can just copy and paste it and make your own.

To make your own... pull Google up on your browser and at the top, click on 'documents'.  Then click on 'create'.  I like to use a spreadsheet and make a table.  If you've never done this, just fill in the boxes and try it out.  It's not hard.  Call your child over to the computer to help you if you need to.

Roughly divide the number of items by the number of parents so you can tell them how much to sign up for.  For example: 20 items, 11 parents.  Ask everyone to bring 1-2 things, depending on the cost.  You'll see, within 24 hours, you're list will be done.  Some people who don't want to do this... well, you can just call them and fill it in for them.  Then it's just one or two phone calls instead of ten.  Someone will want to bring their special dish... you'll have space for that if everything else is balanced.

FOOD IDEAS

Now that we've covered the details of how to organize your volunteers, let's cover what you'll want to have them bring.

These are turkey-salami wraps with tomato, cream cheese and spinach.  A little sign tells people the ingredients.

Protein foods: Slices or cubes of ham, turkey, tofu, cheese, nuts.  You can hit the deli counter for the best selection.

Celery with some dips.  Bowl with nuts and dried fruit.

Sides: Veggie trays, dips (hummus, etc), fruit tray.  Cut it up yourself, or ask the supermarket to do it for you.

Treats: This will depend on the occassion... pie, decorated cookies, brownies, bars.

Drinks:  Important to be VERY specific here.  For example: 100% juice and mineral water (pelegrino or perrier)

Extras: Cups, plates, napkins, plastic cutlery, disposable tablecloths, serving pieces

Tell them how many will be served including students, parents and siblings.  Tell them when to bring it and to bring all serving pieces with their names taped to the bottom of non-disposable items.

You, as the organizer, could wait until the end and bring whatever is not chosen and be there to set up and put it all together.  You can also pin another parent down with the clean up instead of bringing food.  Also be prepared to run to the store the day of or day before for emergency stuff.

When I did this in our class, it went very smoothly.  As a busy mom, I LOVE it when people tell me EXACTLY what to bring. My mental real estate is precious and I don’t want to use it being creative about a classroom party. Just tell me what to do!  I can only assume there are others like me because I'm pretty average in things like that.  The other great thing is that the next parent to organize a party can just use THE SAME DOCUMENT and just change the list of things to bring.  How is that for a time saver?

Now here are some ideas I have for party food.  

Finger food:

 Party or not, children really prefer finger-food.  So you can make bread, cheese, meat plates so they can build little sandwiches, or you can make everything in cubes with bread sticks (or small pieces of whole wheat fococcia bread (recipe to come).  Wraps cut into little round slices, sushi rolls made without raw fish, even sandwiches cut into small pieces (into 4 or six little finger sandwiches).  Look in some of your party-food cookbooks and get some ideas of things that would appeal to you.

Mix juice with sparkling mineral water for a special party drink. Have a parent stationed at the drinks offering each child one cup of punch or juice and letting them know that if they are still thirsty, they can refill with water.

Drinks:

 DON'T SERVE SODA!!!  Just don't do it.  Even if some kids expect it, you can give other parents some new ideas.  My favorite special 'punch' I serve is 100% juice (or something sweeteened with fruit juice instead of sugar) diluted 50:50 with sparkling water.  NOT club soda.  Pelligrino or Perrier water.  At Thanksgiving, I use Cran-Apple, but use whatever you like.  100% apple juice is good too, but not so good diluted with the fizzy.  Experiment!  It sounds more expensive, but every child needs about 4-8 ounces of juice, then they can have water.  Otherwise they'll be in the bathroom the rest of the school day.

A variety of attractive foods that kids can serve themselves. It makes it easy to try new things!

Sides:

Provide popular and easy-to-eat fruits and vegetables with some nice dips.  Celery with PB or cream cheese or plain, carrot sticks, olives, cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, sugar snap peas.  Little satsuma oranges, apple slices (dunk them in lemon or pineapple juice as you are slicing them to keep from going brown), grapes, pineapple, melon... you name it.

Blood sugar:

Every celebration seems to revolve around dessert.  Right?  Well, just make sure there are choices of some good protein and vegetable foods to take the edge off all that sugar.  Really.  And when you are serving, hold the desserts back.  Let everyone eat their meal... THEN let them come back for the treats. Make sense? Otherwise, here is what you will get:

     Parent: Hi little Suzy, what would you like to eat?  

     Child: A cupcake please! 

     Parent: Nothing else?  

     Child: No. Well, maybe a cookie too?

So don't even show them the desserts yet.

Presentation is important!  Kids eat with their eyes too. Look at those gorgeous little gingerbread men!  Very popular.

Treats:

 Now while I'd like to give some recommendations here, I won't.  The reason is that people are really protective of their holiday treats.  And honestly, as long as little Suzy has a bit of 'growing food' in her little tummy, she'll probably be no worse for wear after a her cupcake, no matter what color the frosting is.  I think it's a good compromise in all but the most sensitive kids.

My friend Ellen told me a story about a kiddie party her friend threw.  She had a friend (an excellent pastry chef) make cupcakes for the kids following her preferred diet restrictions.  Here is what she said happened.

 'Those poor kids were so excited about the cupcakes--until they started eating them.  Some kids cried, others started spitting them out, I definitely heard "Mommy, mine doesn't taste good".  Not one kid, including her own, ate a whole cupcake.'  

The take-home message here is this… Make treats a treat. 🧁

Food safety:

Little kids are particularly prone to food borne illness.  There are just a few things you can do, and ask other parents to do, to make things go smoothly.  First, be explicit when reminding them they are making food for other children so use their most hygenic preparation skills (wash their hands and get the cat off the counter) and refrigerate perishable items accordingly.  Ask them to keep hot foods hot in a crock pot and bring that to class if appropriate.  Ask them to thouroughly wash ALL produce that will be served raw.  A 20% vinegar spray/rinse is VERY effective at killing germs on things like apple skins, cucumbers, grapes, etc.  Once it's on the serving table, the kids' grubby little hands will get on it, but it by then it will all be consumed so quickly, the risk isn't as high.  It's the washing, preparation and storage that is important. PLEASE include this on your google doc.

Food Allergy Warning!

 Many of you will have a class that does not allow peanuts, or tree nuts, or some other allergen to even enter the class room.  Please find out if one of the children has a life-threatening food allergy and take steps to avoid that food COMPLETELY.  Even if they will not be attending, a peanut-sensitive child can react to the reside left on a table.

Food sensitivities:  Some children will want to avoid other types of foods, but will not be harmed by having it included in the feast.  This includes children who do not eat pork, those on gluten-free, dairy-free, egg-free, etc diets.  As the organizer, a little bit of effort on your part in planning can make it WAY more fun for these children if you can find out what to look out for.  If you can find this out, try to make sure there is a growing food and a treat that each child can eat and label the foods appropriately. Maybe call their parents for ideas. For example, label a cookie 'Gluten-Free and Yummy!' for one, and label your turkey/salami wraps with their ingredients clearly so people can easily avoid pork.  As an organizer, cut an index card in half and glue/tape a toothpick to it.  Bring a few of these along and make the labels on the spot.  If you've ever been on a restricted diet, you'll know how appreciative others will be of your small efforts.

Finally, here are some pictures of a recent Thanksgiving feast from a 1st Grade classroom.  I think it provides a balanced meal, some very healthy choices, and some acceptable compromises.  By being clear, you can respect every familys budget and food preferences.  And that allows everyone a reasonable place to compromise and enjoy a celebratory meal together safely and happily.