Top Tips For Throwing A Child-Friendly Dinner Party

Once you have children, your whole life changes; your world no longer centres on yourself, but on them. This can sometimes mean that the things you used to love doing, such as spending time with your friends, can take a back seat.

However, that doesn’t have to be the case. Just because you are a mum, that doesn’t mean that you have to stop doing the things that you enjoy. You can still spend time with your friends and have a laugh, you just might need to include the kids, that’s all.

An excellent way to spend some quality time with your friends, without having to stress about the kids getting bored, is by throwing a dinner party. Now, before you back away in terror, hosting an amazing dinner party is much easier than you think. Yes, even with children to cater to.

Here are my top tips for throwing a stress-free, child-friendly dinner party:

Keep it small

Don’t go crazy with invites – stick to a maximum of five couples, and no more. Hosting for more than ten people and organising a dinner party becomes a major hassle, especially with the kids to think of as well. An intimate gathering is much more fun than an overly large one, as there won’t be as much to deal with.

Hold the party on a Saturday

Whatever you do, don’t attempt to host your dinner party on a weeknight. With school pick ups, after school activities and work, you’ll have enough to deal with, without the added pressure of hosting a party.

Plus, by hosting on a Saturday, you will have all day to prepare, so won’t have to rush. And, as it’s a weekend, you, your guests and the kids, will be able to handle a later night that on a weeknight.

Choose simple food

To be a success, the food you serve doesn’t have to be elaborate, it just needs to be tasty. To reduce the amount of time that you spend in the kitchen opt for dishes that are easy to make so that you can spend as much time with your guests as possible.

If you want to make your evening as free of stress as possible, consider ordering a couple of ready prepared meals from an online food company. There are lots of companies offering dishes, like beef wellington, which are perfect for dinner parties. Or, if you don’t want to order something in ready made, you could order a meal box. These come with recipe cards, as well as all the ingredients you will need.

Set up a children’s table

You can involve the kids in your dinner party, but that doesn’t mean they have to sit with you. Instead, seat the children on a table of their own – a card table can work well for this. To keep them occupied, pop some colouring books, pencils, cards, and board games in a box beside their table. Don’t forget to pop some snacks on their table – breadsticks, hummus, and veggie crisps are ideal.

You can serve the kids the same food as the adults, or you can prepare some child-friendly foods instead. Lasagna and garlic bread or homemade pizzas can make great meals for children at dinner parties. Just make sure to check about any allergies in advance.

Throwing a fantastic child-friendly dinner party is much easier than you would think. Take note of the tips above, and you can ensure that your dinner party is fun and enjoyable, and free of stress.

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