Start With Food That's Easy to Eat

There is a moment at every children's party when the food table turns into chaos and the bouncy castle sits empty because everyone is queuing for a plate. The trick to avoiding it is simple: serve food that can be eaten standing up, in three bites, with one hand. If a child needs a knife, a fork and a lap, you have lost them to the inflatable before the jelly has even wobbled.

Whether you have booked bouncy castle hire for the afternoon or you are simply planning a garden party, the food should support the fun rather than interrupt it. Here are the ideas that work time and time again, plus a few things worth avoiding.

Finger Sandwiches That Actually Get Eaten

Finger sandwiches are the backbone of any children's party spread, but the ones that disappear fastest are always the plainest. Cut crusts off for younger guests and leave them on for older ones who have decided they are grown up. Use a sharp knife and cut each round into quarters or triangles — small pieces look generous on a plate and are far less likely to be abandoned half-eaten.

• Ham and mild cheese — the safe bet that suits almost everyone.
• Egg mayonnaise — popular, but keep it chilled and don't leave it out longer than an hour.
• Cucumber with a thin scrape of butter — the surprise winner with children who claim to hate salad.
• Cheese and pickle — for the slightly older crowd at a seven- or eight-year-old's party.

Make them the morning of the party, lay them flat in a shallow container, cover with damp kitchen paper and cling film, and keep them in the fridge until ten minutes before you serve. Slice four rounds of bread per child and you will have plenty — children eat far less at parties than parents expect, especially when there is a bouncy castle involved.

Fruit Skewers and Other Fresh Bites

A plate of fruit skewers looks like you have made an effort, and it takes about fifteen minutes. Thread grapes, strawberries, melon cubes, blueberries and chunks of banana onto wooden skewers, then stand them upright in a mug or a halved melon so they look like a little arrangement rather than a pile.

A few practical notes. Use blunt-ended or wooden skewers and cut the sharp points off after threading — especially important if toddlers are about. Brush banana and apple with a little lemon juice so they don't brown. If you are worried about the pointy ends, serve the fruit in paper cups instead, which is quicker and safer for the under-fives.

Small vegetable sticks with a pot of hummus are worth putting out too. The children who want them will be delighted, and the ones who ignore them will not have cost you much.

Small Cakes and Sweet Treats

Skip the enormous slab of birthday cake for the general spread and keep the big cake for the singing and photographs. For the table itself, small is best: fairy cakes, mini doughnuts, bite-sized brownies cut into squares, or shortbread fingers. Anything that fits in a small hand and leaves no crumbs down the front of a party dress is a good choice.

• Fairy cakes with a swirl of buttercream — bake them in cases so there is nothing to peel off a plate.
• Mini jelly pots in paper cups, made the night before.
• Biscuits — a plain selection always gets finished.
• Ice cream tubs for the end of the party, scooped into cones outside if the weather allows.

Put sweets in a bowl near the exit as party bags rather than on the table, unless you want the afternoon to end in a sugar rush of epic proportions.

Foods to Avoid Near the Bouncy Castle

This is the bit people forget. An inflatable plus chocolate spread is a cleaning job nobody wants. Anything that melts, smears, stains or crumbles is best kept well away from the castle, and ideally served after the bouncing has finished.

• Chocolate buttons and bars — they melt in pockets and on hands, then transfer to the vinyl.
• Ice cream and lollies — lovely, but only at the end, and only with the castle deflating in the background.
• Crisps — fine in a bowl, but the crumbs end up everywhere, including inside the bouncy castle.
• Anything in a bowl with a spoon — pasta salads, rice, yoghurt. Recipe for disaster with a ten-year-old in socks.
• Fizzy drinks in open cups — stick to squash, water or cartons with lids and straws.

Set the food table away from the inflatable, ideally round a corner or under a gazebo, so children have to physically leave the bouncing to eat. It sounds simple, and it works.

Labelling Dietary Options Clearly

With allergies, intolerances, vegetarian and dairy-free needs all common in a single class, clear labelling is not fussy — it is the difference between a relaxed parent and a worried one. Write small cards for each plate naming what is in it and flagging the key allergens: milk, egg, wheat, nuts, soya.

Keep gluten-free, dairy-free and vegetarian options on separate plates with separate serving spoons, and place them slightly apart from the rest so there is no cross-contamination from little hands. If a parent has told you their child cannot have something, put a portion aside in a labelled container before the party starts so it does not get eaten by someone else.

Finally, do not be shy about asking guests to bring their own safe treat if their child has a serious allergy. Every parent would rather be asked than have their child left out. A well-labelled, simply prepared table means everyone gets fed, nobody has a reaction, and you get to enjoy the party as much as the children do.