Six Tips for Going to Birthday Parties With Food Allergies
Birthday parties can be so tough for little kids with food allergies, and very stressful for their parents. With pizza, ice cream and cake as standard party fare, going to kids’ birthday parties with food allergies can be difficult. Whether the food allergic child is the birthday kid or a guest, each scenario has its own challenges. (I’ll be posting soon about hosting a party for your own child with food allergies!) For allergic kids attending parties, here are some things that work for us:
1. Bring food that is either special, or similar to what’s being served.
Bringing your own food is a no-brainer, but there are some things to consider. You may want to bring allergen-free foods similar to what’s being served. My son’s friends’ parties all seem to serve pizza, so I bring homemade dairy-free egg-free mini bagel pizzas, kept warm in a small thermos. If an alternative similar to what’s served is either not possible or not desired by your child, bring their favorite food or something they don’t often have but will like, as a special treat. Also, if your kid is highly sensitive to certain allergens and cannot be present in the same room, make sure you talk with the party host ahead of time and find out if those allergens will be served! If they are, you may need to skip that portion of the party, or decline to attend the entire party if they will be eating at the beginning of the party or there is a risk of those allergens being present on hands and surfaces.
2. Think about food preparation.
If the food you bring needs to be heated up or prepared in some way, make sure it is ready at the same time as the other food, so your child doesn’t have to sit there hungry while watching all of her friends eat. Check with the host/hostess as to the schedule, and make sure you have whatever you need to prepare or heat up your child’s food on time.
3. Watch where the kids go.
At some party venues, they herd the kids, ahead of the parents, from the play area into a party room where pizza and other allergen-laden food is already set out on plates. Often the kids run to take a seat and start chomping before the parents even enter the room. I always jump in line with the kids, or sneak into the party room right before the kids go in, to make sure there is a good place for my son to sit without any foods he is allergic to in front of him. I also put out his food as soon as he sits down too so he’s not waiting to eat (see first heading, above). Of course, if your child is highly sensitive to peanuts or tree nuts and those items are being served, you may not be able to do that – see first bullet, above.
4. Don’t forget the allergen-free dessert!
If they are serving ice cream, perhaps bring dairy-free ice cream or ice cream sandwiches and store them in the freezer during the party. Popsicles are often free of allergens (and you can get them free of artificial colors too!). Birthday parties almost always include cake, which is full of milk, egg, gluten, soy and often cross-contaminated with tree nuts (when commercially made), so bring your own cupcake! I keep a stash of allergen-free cupcakes in my freezer and just defrost one or two earlier in the day. Frost it as desired, but don’t frost while frozen or the frosting will slide off later. Pack it in a cool individual cupcake holder, which may be the envy of your child’s non-allergic friends. Decorate the cupcake with awesome sprinkles or decorations to make your allergic child feel special, in a good way.
5. Bring extra treats, in the form of food and small toys.
Those goody bags often contain candy and chocolate which food allergic kids cannot have. Bring some allergy-free treats, like safe lollipops and other candy, to swap for those allergen-laden sweets. Or, even better, reduce the sugar intake and trade those forbidden treats with small toys that your allergic child would like. I have used stickers, action figurines, paddle balls, bubbles, and other toys with luck. If you’re swapping out with good toys, you might want to give those out in the car after the party to avoid the appearance of one-upping the items given in the birthday child’s goody bags!
6. Don’t stress yourself out.
It is possible that your allergic child may get upset or even throw a tantrum if they can’t have what everyone else is having. (The wailing chant of “I want pizza! I want pizza!” by my two-year old in front of thirty people once was almost enough to bring me to tears.) Just keep a smile on your face and try to stay positive. Calmly remind your child that they will get sick and may have to go to the hospital if they eat that food. (For my kids, the possibility that they will have to go to the doctor and get “pinched” with needles is enough to get them to stop doing anything!) You may also have to endure comments or stares from other parents who aren’t familiar with food allergies. You can either ignore them or tell them why your child has her own food, to educate them. Once they have the knowledge, most people understand. I’ve found that other parents who know about my kid’s allergies are helpful at future parties in making sure he isn’t served food that he can’t have!
Going to kids’ birthday parties with food allergies can be challenging, but with a little preparation, your allergic child can still have a great time! Good luck!
Do you have a tip to share? Please leave it in a comment below. Thanks for reading!
And don’t forget to enter to win FREE TICKETS to the Gluten Free & Allergen Friendly Expo on July 25, 2015! Time’s running out!
