Children eat less at a birthday party than you think. One simple hot dish such as hot dogs, pizza or pancakes, a few nibbles while the guests arrive, and then cake or muffins is plenty. Count on one hot dog and one slice of cake per child, serve the food in the middle of the party and the sweets last. Here are the quantities, three cakes anyone can make and the things you can skip.
Party food is what parents spend the most time on and what the children care about least. A six-year-old at a party is wound up, wants to run around and gets two bites of hot dog down before a friend calls out. There is nothing wrong with the food, that is just how parties work. So keep it simple, keep it familiar and make less of it.
Saturday, half past one, a flat in Hammarby sjöstad. Ten six-year-olds have been there for twenty minutes, two have already asked when the cake is coming, and the hot dogs that were supposed to be ready at two are still in the fridge because nobody has had a moment. This is the whole problem with party food: it needs to be ready exactly when everything else is happening. The answer is to make less, make it in advance and do it in the right order.
Quantities per child
| What | Per child | For ten children |
|---|---|---|
| Hot dogs with buns | 1 to 1.5 | 15 sausages, 15 buns |
| Pizza | 2 slices | 2 large pizzas |
| Pancakes | 2 to 3 | 25 pancakes, a double batch of batter |
| Squash (saft) | 2 glasses | 3 litres, ready mixed |
| Cake | 1 slice | One cake for 12, plus the adults |
| Muffins | 1 | 12, with a few spare |
| Sweets | A small handful, in the party bag to take home | Not on the table before the food |
The hot dish
- Hot dogs. Ketchup and mustard on the table, nothing else. Vegetarian sausages for anyone who wants them, just as good.
- Pizza. Order in, or ready-made bases with cheese and ham. Cut into small pieces, children never finish a whole slice.
- Pancakes. Fry them in advance and warm them in the oven. Jam, whipped cream and berries.
- Tacos for children from about seven who can be bothered to build their own. Everything in bowls, the children assemble theirs.
Under four: cut the sausage lengthways and then into pieces, and halve grapes lengthways. Whole sausage in round slices and whole grapes are what get stuck in the throat, and this is the only rule in this guide that is not about taste.
Nibbles while the guests arrive
A tray of cucumber sticks, carrots, peppers, cheese cubes, grapes halved lengthways, pretzel sticks and popcorn. The children grab something as they pass. No dips, they end up on the clothes. No crisps before the food.
Three cakes anyone can make
- Tray bake. Sponge batter in a baking tray, 20 minutes in the oven, cover with whipped cream once it has cooled, then sprinkles and berries on top. Cut into squares, one per child, and no piece is nicer than any other.
- Shop-bought base. A ready-made sponge base, custard between the layers, cream all round, the child's favourite sweets arranged in a pattern on top. Twenty minutes.
- Muffin cake. Twelve muffins packed tightly in a circle, icing over the lot so it looks like one cake, a candle in each. No cutting, no arguments about slices.
Fika
If the party is in the afternoon and there is no meal, go for fika (the Swedish coffee-and-cake break) instead: muffins, chocolate balls (chokladbollar), cinnamon buns cut in halves, fruit in pieces and squash. Put everything out at once, in one go, so the children are not waiting for the next round. Whatever you put out last is what gets eaten, so put the fruit out last. If you want to bake with your child the day before, the easy recipes are in our guide to Baking with kids.
Shopping list for ten children
- 15 sausages and 15 buns, or 2 large pizzas, or a double batch of pancake batter
- Ketchup and mustard
- 3 litres of squash, ready mixed, plus water on the table
- Cucumber, carrots, peppers, grapes, cheese in cubes, pretzel sticks, popcorn
- Sponge base or cake mix, cream, custard, berries, sprinkles and sweets for the top
- 12 muffins, or a batch of muffin batter and cases
- Birthday candles and matches
- Paper plates, cups with names written on them, napkins
- Party bags: a small handful of sweets in each, nothing else
That is all. Anything not on the list is something you are doing for your own sake, which is allowed, but do not expect it to get eaten.
Parties by age: what actually gets eaten
| Age | Hot dish | Cake | Keep in mind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 to 3 years | Pancakes or soft pasta, sausage in small pieces | Muffins, one each | Everything in small pieces, the parents stay and help |
| 4 to 6 years | Hot dogs | Tray bake | Everyone sits down at the same time, food in the middle of the party |
| 7 to 9 years | Pizza or tacos | Shop-bought base with sweets on top | They eat more, but only if they get to sit down for ten minutes |
| 10 to 12 years | Tacos, burgers or pizza delivered | Whatever the child has chosen | Fewer guests, more food, let them sort it out themselves |
What never gets eaten
- Smörgåstårta, the Swedish savoury sandwich cake. Children do not eat it, grandmothers do.
- Salad and dips
- Homemade meatballs, bakes and anything that needs cutlery
- Exotic fruit. Grapes, banana and melon are enough.
- Several kinds of fizzy drink. Squash and water.
- Four kinds of biscuit for fika. One kind, lots of them.
- Sandwiches with toppings. They get taken apart and left.
Children eat what they know. The adults get coffee, a bun and a slice of cake, and they are happy with that. If you have a child who is a fussy eater on ordinary days too, the thinking is in our Fussy eaters, but at a party it applies to every child.
Allergies
Ask in the invitation. Nuts are easiest to leave out altogether. Gluten-free and lactose-free alternatives are in every supermarket. Label what is what on the table, and let the child with the allergy serve themselves first so the spoons have not been mixed up. More on what applies in our Food allergies in children.
Prepare the day before
- Bake the sponge or buy the base. Whip the cream on the day.
- Fry the pancakes and put them in the fridge under cling film.
- Mix the squash in a jug.
- Cut the vegetables and keep them in cold water in the fridge so they stay crisp.
- Fill the party bags and put them in the hall.
- Write the schedule below on a note on the fridge.
On the day, all that is left is warming, pouring, whipping and lighting candles. That is as much as you will have time for.
The food schedule
| When | What |
|---|---|
| Guests arrive | Nibbles out |
| 45 minutes in | The hot dish, everyone sits down at the same time |
| Straight after | Cake and singing |
| The last few minutes | Party bags by the door, with the sweets inside |
How we do it with our families
Denise often comes along as the extra adult at her families' parties, and she almost always takes the kitchen. At a party in Järfälla last winter, ten five-year-olds, it looked like this: at quarter to two she put the tray of nibbles in the hall where the children came in. At half past two she put the hot dogs on while the parents ran the games. At quarter to three everyone was seated, and she went round with the mustard and ketchup so no bottle got knocked over. At three the cake was on the table with the candles lit, she cut it while everyone sang, one piece per child, all the same size. At half past three she poured squash one last time and put the party bags by the door. The parents were with their guests for the whole party. Those are the twenty minutes when everything otherwise happens at once, and they are exactly what an extra adult is for.
Would you like a nanny who comes on the same days every week and whom the children know? Book a free first meeting with the nanny in your home, and we will work out a plan around your hours.
Read more: Children's birthday party at home · Party games for kids by age · The fishing pond game at a kids’ party · Frequently asked questions
Frequently asked questions
What should you serve at a children's birthday party?
One simple hot dish such as hot dogs, pizza or pancakes, nibbles to pick at while everyone waits, and then cake or muffins. Children eat little at parties, they are too excited, and they eat what they recognise. Go for simple and familiar, serve the food in the middle of the party when everyone sits down at the same time, and the sweets last, in the party bag to take home.
How big a cake do you need?
One slice per child and half a slice per adult. For ten children and six adults, a cake that cuts into twelve to fourteen slices is enough. Or muffins: one per child, so there are no leftover slices nobody wants and no arguments about who got the biggest. Children under twelve judge a cake by the top, not the taste.
What is good fika for a children's party?
Muffins with icing, chocolate balls, cinnamon buns cut in halves, fruit in pieces and squash. Anything that can be picked up by hand and eaten in three bites. Put everything out at once, in one go, so the children are not waiting for the next round, and put the fruit out last, because whatever you put out last is what gets eaten.
How do you make an easy birthday cake?
Sponge baked in a tray, whipped cream on top once it has cooled, berries or sprinkles, cut into squares. Or a shop-bought sponge base with custard between the layers, cream all round and the child's favourite sweets arranged in a pattern on top. Twenty minutes, no baking skills needed. Nobody under twelve judges a cake by the taste, only by the top and the candles.
Do you have to serve a meal at a children's party?
No. If the party runs between two and four, fika is enough: muffins, fruit, squash and cake. Say in the invitation that there will be fika so the parents know the children should have had lunch. A meal is needed when the party runs over lunch or dinner, or when it is longer than three hours. Then hot dogs are enough, and they should be.