8 Year Old Birthday

Only snacks are expected at a 2-4 party. I have found that cut up fruit, mini bagels with cream cheese (always has been a huge favorite), Sun Chips, cheese sticks, pretzel sticks or cubes, or popcorn works great! We're talking 7-8 yrs olds here. Its about playing and having fun,and birthday cake! Keep it simple. I'm a mom of 5 and have had lots of B'day parties. At this age, snacking works the best. Good luck and Happy Birthday!!

Thank goodness we can rely on computers for practically everything these days. Alot of ideas are at www.kidspartyfun.com?pages/food.html I always put in a search to make a great party for grandkids whenever possible. Wish her a Happy Birthday from a mamsource friend!

Order $5 pizza at Little Caesars with Capri Suns. Or make sloppy joe's in a crock pot and take them with chips. Keep it simple. Have fun!

Buy some chicken nuggets and cook them at home before you go. They are good cold. Have chips, soda, cake. Cheese squares and crackers are good. Any finger foods are great. Kids don't eat much at parties anyway as they are more into playing. Hope you have some great games planned for them. Have fun and relax. Kids are easy to please...........

I've had lots of parties at the park and here is what I learned. One year, I ordered trays from Walmart, they have one that is all chicken - popcorn, tenders, boneless wings, etc. They were good, not terribly expensive, and something for everyone. BUT - the food experts recommend that after two hours out (inlcuding travel time) toss it because you have no real way of keeping them cold or hot. Last year, I made pigs in blankets and they were a HUGE hit. First, you can get disposable (but I re-use mine) chaffing dishes for like $10 @ Walmart, Sams or Big Lots and it includes the sterno! I made the food at home, with veggie dogs or hot dogs, and store brand "pop can" biscuits. If you buy the 4 pack of store brand biscuits - they are cheap, and you can peel the layers and they wrap a million dogs if you cut them in 1/2 or 1/3. Bake them at home, wrap them in the top section of the chaffing dish. Don't forget to bring bottled water to fill the bottom at the park. The park that we were at does have grills, but I didn't want my husband or me to have to be a slave to the hot grill, and I was worried that a kid would bump into it and get burned. I also brought mini bags of chips pretzels etc. (I've always hated going to parties and the chips are in a bowl or left open and they are stale quickly and grubby hands are digging around in there), any leftovers we then used for lunches or car trips over the next couple of weeks. I also had a veggie plate. The only accessories you need to bring then, are two tongs (one for dogs & one for veggies)and condiments. I brought a full size ketchup & mustard and individual mini dressings for the veggies - that way you don't have to worry about keeping open dressing cold, or double dipping, etc. If you rather, you could bring a full size bottle of dressing for people to pour on their plates, and put the condiments out on the table in a tiny cooler with ice left open, or a bowl of ice. Of course, there was a cooler with juice bags, capri suns, soda, water etc.... You don't have to fuss with 2 liters, ice and cups that way, and the left overs are easy to deal with too! The hot dogs like this were a HUGE hit, everyone ate them, they were easy to keep warm on site until they were gone, unlike the chicken tray the year before. With the chicken tray, after two hours, because I was worried about bacteria since there was no way to chill or heat a big round tray, I ended up tossing quite a bit :(, such a waste.
Of course, there was cake, and activities and everyone had a blast! Good luck, have fun!

is it within a pizza delivery area???? thats usually the easiest and most kids like pizza!!!! ot maybe a big sub cut into pieces. usually the kids want the cake so i wouldnt go too crazy!! though 2-4 is past lunch and before dinner so you even may be able to get away with just snacks. have fun and good luck!

this is interresting cause i am doing the same thing,tomarrow.lol.i have made penutbutter and jelly sandwiches for the kids and turkey sandwiches for the adults.i am bring chips and potatoe salad,too,and of course the cake..

If you really want to make life easy, there are pizza places that will deliver to parks. Bring a veggie tray, chips, dip and a cake and you're all set. If you want something a little "fancier", you could always make (or order) sandwich trays and all of the usual accompaniments, like potato salad & cole slaw. If you keep them cool and in the shade, you should be fine. You're better off not BBQing anyway. Someone's stuck at the grill for the whole party instead of enjoying themselves. Have fun!

You could get the large subs from Publix and cut them up small. Also you can get a "cupcake cake" where it looks like a cake and then you just pull it apart and everyone gets there own cupcake. Less hassle then a whole cake.

Enjoy!

since it's in the afternoon and before dinner i would just do cake and icecream

Hi S.,

I just had a party for my son also who turned 8 in December. What I did for my son was have a pizza party at Il Primo Pizza and Wings and I hired a magician. I'm not sure if you live in the same town as me or not. It can be frustrating having a party these day. May I suggest Chick-fil-A. If you have it in your area. You can place your order online and pick it up when you are ready to head out to the park. They have big platters of chicken and sandwiches. You can also try pizza. I hope I was able to help. Have Fun.

C.:)

You could make little finger sandwiches (cheese, peanut butter, etc.) by cutting them with cookie cutters.

I did my son's 6th at a park and we did Little Debbie individually wrapped snack cakes instead of a big cake and ice cream. Everyone seemed to enjoy it. Good luck!