Birthday Party Food Ideas - Porterville,CA

Fruit tray
Deli tray (make up you own)
little bowls of m&m's
cut up carrots/celery etc w/dip
hot dogs (how old are the kids? not great if they are too young)
cookies
lil smokies in a crock pot (if they are not babies)
macaroni salad
mini sandwiches
bucket of chicken (fast food or deli of groc store)
pizzas
have fun!

One fun thing we did was cut the bread out with a cookie cutter so it was neat shapes for the sandwiches. We did a heart, a flower and a Mickey Mouse. It certainly made plain old sandwiches more fun!

I think you also can't go wrong with a fruit tray. A delicious and easy fruit dip is you mix one bar of cream cheese with one jar of marshmallow Fluff with a mixer. Tastes great with strawberries, blueberries, melons, grapes etc. Kids love it along with adults!

One cool thing my Mom used to do with me and my siblings that I plan on doing for my daughter after she is born are cup cake cones. She would mix birthday cake batter and pour it into waffle or sugar cones and bake them in the oven. She would keep them in a ziploc bag and frost and decorate them the next day. I know it's not really food and more a desert, but I hope it helps. The ideas you already have sound really good though. I'm 7 months pregnant and you're making me hungry. :)

Taco/Burrito/Fajita bar?

pasta salad is always easy and there are so many ways to make. fusili with chopped veggies (e.g. carrots, bell peppers, tomato, artichoke hearts, onions, brocolli, etc) tossed with a italian dressing can be made the night before and right before serving, just toss with some more dressing. chicken salad is also easy, if you want to boil/roast your own chicken or get a rotisserie chicken, shred and toss with mayo, celery, onions. or you can make a curry chicken salad with shredded carrots and sliced grapes (add the grapes the day of the party).

chicken salad with crackers, fruit or veggie tray, you could do bbq meatballs in a crockpot,

You can make caprese pasta salad ahead of time (it's delish):
boil rotelli pasta noodles - put in casserole dish and set aside to cool
add cut up tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, basil and roasted red peppers. Drizzle with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Sprinkle with sea salt and fresh ground pepper. For an extra kick, add a little pesto - yum.

For some more ideas, you can visit my blog post on our annual Halloween movie night: http://www.yourlifevents.com/2010/11/01/parties-annual-ha...

Granted, it's a halloween party, but you can see how I presented things like the pb&j sandwich for the kids, and made baked ham & cheese sandwiches that I cut out with a pumpkin cookie cutter. I also bought the cheap $1.00 Arby's roast beef sandwiches and prettied them up too.

You can also check out http://www.catchmyparty.com for other great ideas. I have lots of free printables on my site, but if you don't find what you're looking for to decorate some of these items, you can go to http://www.ishareprintables.com.

I am a very lazy party planner. platters from Costco. sandwiches, salads, fruit, veggies, shrimp, cake. done.

I just had a surprise birthday party for the hubs, so I just went through this fast and easy food dilemma!!

I made mini calzones that were bitesized (kids and adults love these), garlic/herb/ parmesana knots, tortilla roll up sandwiches, an olive topenade with bread, chips and dip, crackers and different types of cheese.

Easy to make stuff- bitesized pizzas (again, kids and adults love them), a 7 layer dip, chips and salsa/guac/queso, tacos/burritos (you can have the shells and meat ready and have an area for toppings)...

I love planning parties!