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All about feeding our little foodies

Christmas Party Food Ideas

Christmas is one of my favourite times of the year and I love that we seem to magically become more sociable and happy, making time for the friends we don’t get to see much throughout the year.  We had a party yesterday with all of Harry’s friends that he’s known since he was a bump.  Their mums were people I met purely because we were all due our babies in June and they’ve become some of my closest friends.  I decided to throw a party for the kids (and us grown ups) and thought I’d share with you my favourite Christmas party food ideas.

Slow cooker pulled pork

I love this because it always feels like a festive treat to me.  It’s Christmas market style food and requires minimal effort.  Depending on what time my party is I sometimes prepare this the night before and just leave it cooking on low, then switch it over to warm so it’s ready for guests to serve themselves when they arrive.  Slow cookers are so handy for this, I don’t know what I’d do without mine.  If you’re looking for a good one this CrockPot is amazing.  There was also another slow cooker out at the party, keeping mulled wine warm for us adults!

Cheese wraps with cucumber Christmas trees

These are so easy to make, spread mayonnaise on the tortilla wrap then cover with grated cheddar.  Role into a sausage shape and slice so they’re about an inch high.  Stand them up then, to make the trees get some star party picks, these ones from Inspired by Alma were perfect and were a big hit with the children.  Use a vegetable peeler to peel strips off a cucumber, cut them in half lengthways then consertina each strip onto a  party pick, making the folds get wider as they go down.  Stick the ‘tree’ on top of the wrap and voila!  The perfect healthy, simple, party food!

Puff pastry Christmas trees

These are so easy to make, take a sheet of ready roll puff pastry and cut out Christmas tree shapes, cover with pesto and finely grated cheddar, leaving a small gap around the edge.  Place halved piccolo tomatoes and sweetcorn on top so they look like tree decorations and bake in a preheated over at 180°c for 15-20 minutes, until crispy and golden.

Festive chickpea cookies

These are so tasty, no one would ever believe there’s no added refined sugar!  You can find the recipe here.

Peanut butter and banana stars

Cut star shapes out of a ready roll sheet of puff pastry, put a tsp smooth peanut butter on top and a slice of banana on top of that.  Bake at 180°c for 15 mins.

Cupcakes

 

As you all know, I’m all for healthy eating but I also believe that teaching my son to eat a balanced diet means allowing him occasional treats.  A party is the perfect time for a little bit of indulgence and cupcakes are a nice way of being aware of portion control for little foodies.  My mum kindly made these chocolate cupcakes for me (I’m not much of a baker.) and I turned them into a ‘sleigh’ display using these beautiful cake toppers from Inspired by Alma.  She also made me some with ‘grass’ icing that I used tree toppers on, again from Inspired by Alma.

Veg sticks and houmous

I think I do these for every party/gathering we have.  Just so quick, easy and tasty and perfect for all ages.

Sandwiches

For a festive twist I made turkey and cranberry sauce sandwiches, alongside the standard cheese and tuna.

Frozen party food

I also bought some frozen party food from Aldi. We got sausage rolls, vegetable spring rolls, pizza and cheesy garlic bread.  These were cheap, tasty and easy to prepare as they all cooked at the same temperature.

Entertainment

As my guests were 2 years old I didn’t even attempt party games.  The children just played with each other and Harry’s toys.  The one special thing I did provide for the children to play with was some confetti star balloons.  They were a big hit and the children had so much fun throwing them in the air, catching them and shaking them to watch the stars inside move.  They were really nice for the children to take home with them too as a little party favour.

I’ve got a few left that I’m saving for Christmas day, I think they’ll look lovely amongst the presents on Christmas morning.

Christmas traditions

 

It would be so lovely if these Christmas parties become a tradition.  I filmed a bit of a party vlog as I’d love to be able to show it to them when they’re older.  I didn’t film as much as I’d like as I was too busy having fun and being in the moment catching up with friends but I’m glad I captured what I did.  I’m really enjoying making memories in short videos at the moment, I thought I’d share it here.  I hope it brings a festive smile to your face like it does mine.