Planning a GF Birthday Party

The devil is in the details!

We recently celebrated a birthday in our house (!), and I wanted to share the steps I took to plan a totally GF kids party: the food I made, the food I ordered, the goodies bags I packed, and how I double checked everything!

The venue we chose did not offer food, so we provided everything. This was both comforting and daunting, since we knew all the food would be safe, but we had a lot of boxes to check! The party was mid-day, so we served lunch, snacks, drinks and cupcakes. First things first:

The Lunch. Luckily, we have a local spot we trust that takes GF eating very seriously, and they offer party platters. They do not make a GF pizza, so I opted for chicken fingers and french fries. I thought it would be easiest to keep it to finger foods, and not fuss with utensils. This worked out well, and I thankfully anticipated the need for many, many napkins and wipes. Although I do wish I’d remembered tongs for serving (or asked the restaurant for some). Depending on how active your party is going to be, I think we also could have gotten away with no lunch, and just snacks. Everyone was so busy having fun, there wasn’t a super focused meal time, FWIW. This choice will largely be age, and time-of-day dependent!

The Snacks: I have these great bowls from Amazon I’ve used many times. I filled each one up with mini Pirates Booty bags, GoGo squeeze apple sauce pouches, and Honest Kids apple juice boxes.

The Cupcakes: Okay...so my child specifically requested pink strawberry cupcakes - and since I do not yet have a local bakery I trust, I made them myself. I used this recipe, and I doubled it to make sure there would be enough. Since I knew the cupcake baking would be a lot of work, I outsourced the icing and sprinkles (Hello, Betty Crocker!) I love their GF icings and decorations in a pinch. Were they the most beautiful, perfectly textured GF things I’ve ever baked? Not especially, but they were festive looking, sweet, and the kids loved them. Also, I invested in a cupcake transportation/display product, and it worked out great!

The Goodie Bags: I know people try to avoid candy, but it’s a party! And kids love it. I went for a nice balance of GF York Peppermint Patties and Dum Dum lollipops, and mini crayon and mini note pad sets from Amazon.

The Details: I was a very squeaky wheel when it came to ordering the food, and double checking everything was marked GF a day prior to pickup. When I order, I say my child has celiac, that all the food must be totally gluten free, and to note a Gluten Allergy. Disclaimer: I realize celiacs do not have a gluten allergy, however using the word ‘allergy’ gets a restaurants attention and prompts protocol changes (clean hands, gloves, surfaces) within the kitchen. I personally feel safest ordering this way.

I wish I had more photos to share! That’s my other tip - assign a friend or family member to take pictures of this special day! I hope this is helpful. Lmk how you plan for your GF parties in the comments!