Okay so last weekend my niece had her 6th birthday party and my sister was totally stressing about the food setup. Wanted something easy for the kids, not messy, and kinda cute? She asked if I had any ideas. Honestly, I remembered seeing pictures online of bento boxes for kids, and I thought, why not try making themed food boxes for the party? Seemed simple enough in my head!
Figuring Out What to Put In & Finding Containers
First thing: what food actually fits? Kids, right? Gotta be finger food, small bites, nothing too complicated. Also, keeping it budget-friendly was key. Started listing stuff out:
- Sandwiches: Cut ’em into shapes. Stars or dinosaurs maybe?
- Fruit: Grapes, berries, melon chunks. Colorful.
- Cheese & Crackers: Those little cheddar cubes and maybe some pretzels.
- Mini Meatballs: Easy to stick with toothpicks.
- Baby Carrots or Cucumber: Trying to be kinda healthy-ish.
- Mini Dessert: Thinkin’ cupcakes or a couple cookies.
Next mission: the boxes. Looked everywhere! Checked party stores – too expensive for boxes? Crazy. Dollar store? Had clear plastic divided containers, perfect! Like tiny bento boxes for cheap. Bought like 20 of them. Felt smug.
Actually Making The Food
Big mistake #1: Underestimated the time. Started the night before.
- Made like 50 mini sandwiches. Peanut butter & jelly mostly, some ham & cheese. Used cookie cutters – stars, hearts, animals. Tedious! Bread got kinda dry on the edges? Oh well. Covered them damp paper towels inside bag. Hope that works.
- Chopped all the fruit. Berries, melon, pineapple. Got big tubs at the wholesale place. Took forever.
- Cooked a massive batch of mini meatballs. Almost burned them. Had to pay attention!
- Put cheese cubes and crackers in little baggies inside the boxes. Less spillage.
Realized I needed dip for carrots and meatballs! Panic! Whipped up some ranch quickly, found these tiny condiment cups at the dollar store too. Squeezed in some ketchup for the meatballs.
Assembly Line Chaos (Morning of the Party)
Morning was insane. Kitchen covered in food. Got the boxes ready.
- Started stuffing: Sandwich shape in one section.
- Fruit mix in another.
- Cheese/cracker baggie.
- Few meatballs with a toothpick.
- Little handful of carrots.
- Drop in the dip cups.
- Plopped a mini cupcake in the largest section.
Problem: Things shift in the box! Everything kinda slides around. Put some parchment paper between the cupcake and the carrots? Helped a bit. No lids! Had to transport them like trays? Nerve-wracking drive!
Last Minute Tweaks & The Party Test
Got there, set them out. Looked pretty decent! Biggest issue: Forgot to label anything! Some kids picky about dipping sauces or food touching. Quickly made little signs with markers “Ranch,” “Ketchup,” etc. Stuck them on toothpicks.
Result? Kids loved them! Seriously. Having their own little box felt special. Less mess – they ate everything in their section. Parents happy too – no chasing plates. Cleanup? Just toss the boxes. Some refills needed on the meatballs and fruit platters I brought as backup.
Were they perfect? Nah. Next time, maybe use paper boxes with sections glued down? Taping the dip cups down maybe? Definitely add stickers or something on the lids for decoration. But honestly? For the time and cost, totally worth it. Huge success with the kids and zero leftover sandwiches!