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Pop quiz: Forty kids and adults are coming over. What do you serve? When Maine-based Julie O’Rourke was hosting her son’s fourth birthday, she wanted to do something simple. So, she put together a snack table of colorful finger foods. “Everyone just stands around the table and eats,” she says. Take a look…
Chopping everything takes a while, but the prep is kid-friendly (washing veggies, breaking apart cauliflower). “Four-year-old Diogo is all about peeling hardboiled eggs, so that kept him busy!” says Julie. Bonus: There’s no need for plates, utensils or even napkins. She just recommends putting down parchment paper, so the fruit doesn’t stain the tablecloth.
Julie’s grocery list was:
RED
Cherry tomatoes on the vine
2 containers of strawberries
3 red peppers
2 bundles of radishes
2 small watermelons
ORANGE
2 orange peppers
1 bundle of carrots
5 fresh apricots
1 orange cauliflower
1 block of orange extra sharp cheddar
YELLOW
3 yellow peppers
3 golden beets
1 bag of tortilla chips
Dozen eggs (cooked as seven-minute eggs, then cut in half)
2 containers of hummus
WHITE
1 bag of popcorn
2 containers of mozzarella balls
1 package of sesame rice crackers
1 block of Monterey Jack
1 pineapple
GREEN
1 lb of green beans
1 package green grapes
2 European cucumbers
1 bunch of celery
BLUE
1 package of black sesame rice crackers
1 package black grapes
2 containers of blueberries
PURPLE
1 bag of blue corn chips
3 red beets
2 heads of purple cauliflower
1/2 purple cabbage
Funny takeaways? “Anything red went first,” she says. “Followed by hard-boiled eggs.” Afterward, she served a Bon Appetit easy sheet cake. “I always plan parties between lunch and dinner,” she says. “I make them two hours long, so no one depends on you for a meal.” Genius, right? “This is not my first snack table,” she laughs.
It was a hit. :)
How cool is that? What other party snacks do you swear by?
P.S. Julie’s beauty uniform, and the easiest birthday cake.
(Photos courtesy of Julie O’Rourke. Throw by Jenny Pennywood.)
