Whatever the celebration, make it festive and frugal with a food bar!
Think of the benefits…
Minimal cooking required.
No more worries about what to serve your vegetarian sister, the gluten-free neighbor or your nephew that's allergic to peanuts because everyone creates their own.
The food bar can be the focal point of your party with all sorts of festive serving options.
An entertaining way to feed your guests.
Food Bar Ideas for Children's Parties
Hot Dog Bar – hot dogs, buns, ketchup, mustard, relish, cheese, onions, chili
Pizza Bar – use frozen pizza dough and cut off pieces, so each child can make a personal pizza. Toppings: red sauce, alfredo sauce, mozzerella cheese, pepperoni, sausage, hamburger, Canadian bacon, pineapple tidbits, onions, bell pepper.
Ice Cream Sundae or Banana Split Bar – chocolate and vanilla ice cream, hot fudge, caramel, strawberries, bananas, brownies, crumbled Oreos, sprinkles and all sorts of candy.
Cupcake Bar – various frostings, sprinkles, candies and cookies.
Trail Mix Bar – cereal, pretzels, goldfish, teddy grahams, m&m's, peanuts.
Food Bar Ideas for Grown-Up Events
Baked Potato Bar – potatoes, butter, sour cream, chives, bacon, cheese, chili, bbq.
Nacho Bar – tortilla chips, cheese or queso, chili, beans, lettuce, tomato, jalapeños, black olives, sour cream, guacamole.
Chili Bar – keep the chili warm in a crock pot and set-out assorted toppings: cheese, jalapeños, onions, sour cream.
Hamburger Bar – hamburgers, buns, cheese, bacon, chili, ketchup, mustard, mayonnaise, guacamole, onions, lettuce, tomato, pickles.
Sub Sandwich Bar- submarine rolls, assorted cold cuts, assorted cheese, mustard, mayonnaise, guacamole, onions, pickles, black olives, bell pepper, cucumbers, jalapeños, spinach, lettuce, tomato.
Chocolate Bar – everything chocolate…cookies, cakes, pies, candy, white chocolate, dark chocolate, all chocolate! Sounds like my kind of girls night out!
Dessert Bar – anything sweet! A dessert bar works great for a pot luck.
Need more inspiration? Feast your eyes on this yummy Pinterest Food Bar Board with fabulous photos of over 100 food bar ideas.
I love this! Do you have a printable for the hot dog sign?
So sorry…no printable, but I’ll bet you could make something similar! Good luck!
I don’t think we eat enough baked potatoes. They can be so interesting with all the different fillings. Yummy and fun ideas – thanks
Leigh
I absolutely love having a food bar for a party! We’ve done hot dog roasting bars (with s’mores bars, too, of course) & a hot cocoa bar. I’m planning to do a chili cookoff bar next!
I agree with the above comment; with children, you will often have at least one picky eater at your gathering. A food bar is such a good idea. I love, by the way, the sub sandwich bar. Amazing ideas. Thanks so much for sharing.
Terrific ideas! Will have to bookmark this and keep in mind for upcoming summer parties. We did a slider bar once and it certainly did make things easier and the guests loved customizing their own options, for sure.
Another benefit, the host gets out of the kitchen and gets to enjoy the party too! Awesome post. 🙂
These are such great ideas. I especially like the kid food bar ideas. I have picky eaters, so allowing them to make their own choices is a win-win!
This is good to keep in mind for New Year’s Eve (when we’ll be hosting)!
Oh, I like this idea! It gives a new spin on “buffet”.
I’m visiting from VoiceBoks Members To Remember :->
Those are some wonderful ideas for food bars for parties! 🙂 I pinned it so I can reference it in the future for my parties. 🙂 Thanks!