Food Ideas for a One-Year-Old's Party

Don't forget toddler-friendly cake at a first birthday.

Planing your baby's first birthday party is exciting and the first of a lifetime of birthday celebrations. Part of the anticipation of the first birthday is introducing your little one to the party experience and giving him his first piece of birthday cake. Introducing more than one new food simultaneously is not advisable. Keep this in mind when planning your menu. You also want to choose foods that both your big and small guests will enjoy.

Cake

Chocolate frosting may stain clothing.

Giving a 1-year-old cake can be messy. You may consider ordering cupcakes with the cake or a small cake just for your child. Then, you can give him a single cake or cupcake and he can eat it with his hands. Colored and chocolate frosting may stain your child's clothing; unless you put him in attire that you don't mind getting stained, go with white frosting.

Sandwiches

Tea sandwiches are ideal for little hands.

If you need to serve a main course or meal of substance at your child's birthday, sandwiches are an optionl. Cut the sandwiches into small servings as you would a tea sandwich to make them easy for you child and any other little guests to eat. Serve a combination of adult-friendly sandwiches and kid friendly alternatives. Supply tuna or chicken salad, cheese sandwiches and cold cuts.

Trail Mix

Toddlers like foods that they can pick up such as Cheerios.

Toddlers love to snack on food they can pick up themselves, which is why a child-friendly trail mix is an alternative on first-birthday menus. Make a trail mix without things little ones may be allergic to such as nuts. Even if your child is not allergic to nuts, other children may be. Put bite-sized pretzels, Goldfish and cereals such as Cheerios, Chex Mix or Kix in a bowl and blend them together. You may even consider making it more of a treat by adding in candy pieces such as M&Ms.

Produce and Dairy

Cheese cubes and crackers are easy pick-up foods.

Kids in this age range do not typically have a large variety of foods they eat because they are slowly being introduced to table foods. Oftentimes, produce and dairy items are among the first foods they start eating, which makes the produce and dairy ideal for adding to the menu of a first birthday party. Serve fruit cut in bite-sized pieces. Serve it as a fruit salad or on a tray with a dip made from yogurt or whip cream. String cheese or a tray with cheese and crackers, are other healthy food options for toddlers.

References

• Baby Center: Celebratin Your Baby's First Birthday
• "Today's Moms: Essentials for Surviving Baby's First Year";Mary Ann Zoellner, Alicia Ybarbo; 2009
• Kabose: First Birthday Party