Party food advice please

[sparkliness]

We're having a 'movie picnic party' for Molly's birthday :oops:

This entails draping out the playroom with bunting, fairy lights and plenty of cushions, beanbags and blankets and the kids watching a DVD while eating a picnic :tongue:

Anyway, I'd planned to get cardboard lunch boxes and let them eat out of those, and then hand out popcorn.

I've seen these from Party Pieces (pirate ones for the boys)
http://www.partypieces.co.uk/public/pictures/products/standard/7446.jpg

which they can colour in while people arrive and we get organised.

I was going with a drink, a sandwich, some raisins or grapes, hula hoops and then the popcorn + cake to take home.

I'm a bit worried about likes/dislikes of sandwiches, so I'm wondering about letting them fill them up themselves in a Debenhams cafe stylee.

Then I saw you can buy chip scoops (like you get in maccyd's) and wondered about doing proper cinema style food. A friend suggested hotdogs, but no buns, there is no way I'd give my kids real hotdogs. I thought about using the Helen Browning ones, but DH pointed out that kids who do have proper hotdogs will probably reject them.

Plus there is the whole ketchup issue... (eta as in mess made with it)

The thing is, I think I feel I'm copping out a bit with the whole DVD thing, so I'm trying to make it special, but I don't want to tie myself in knots either.

WWYD?

[silverpod]

I think though I would have the food separate to the movie, and just do popcorn in the movie. It won't take too long and I think there will be far less mess if they are concentrating on the eating as opposed to eating and watching.

You could do chips without the hotdogs TBH. Or if you go back to sandwiches you could also add to the reply slip on the invite to pick a sandwich filler choice (but bearing in mind quite a few parents have problems bothering to reply in the first place this could be tricky).

[Booh]

Oh I am the queen of party boxs - I have done them for lots of parties for my two, but also foe every toddler group and preschool party!

I always put in two sarnies, so say one cream cheese and one jam, or one ham and one marmite! TBH they don't tend to eat them anyway!

Have you thought about putting in a baby bel, little mo cheese? Cut up bits of cucumber and carrot?