Parties are a great way to get together with your family and friends to have a good time. When throwing a party you want it to be a success. You don’t want your guests to spend most of the time hovering over the snack table when they should be walking around the room interacting with other guests. One way to get your guests to stray from the snack table would be to make your snack foods portable. Making your snack foods portable will allow guests to munch and mingle at the same time.
Containers
Portable snack foods will most often require the use of a container. Here are some ideas for snack food containers you can use.
Plastic Cups Plastic cups make the perfect container for your party snack foods. These cups can be used to store many different types of snack foods and are easy to carry around. You can find reusable plastic cups at most retail, grocery, and drug stores. These cups are often inexpensive to purchase and can be used over and over again.
Reusable Muffin Cups Reusable muffin cups can be great for holding small snacks and treats. Reusable muffin cups can be found in different colors which make them great for parties. Muffin cups can also be used for your child’s next birthday party. Because muffin cups are smaller than most plastic cups they may be easier for small hands to handle.
Ice Cream Cones Ice cream cones can be used as a container for the sweet treats. The great thing about using ice cream cones is that they are edible food containers, meaning less to clean up.
Plastic Sundae Bowls You can usually find plastic reusable sundae bowls in your local retail stores. These bowls are relatively inexpensive and can be used again after your party for more than just ice cream. These bowls can be found in small sizes making them great to use for your kids’ everyday snacks.
Napkins Some food items do not require a container. These foods can be served using napkins instead to keep guests hands clean. You can use fabric napkins or paper napkins for messier fare.
Food
There are many foods that would make great portable party snack foods. Here are just a few ideas of what you can serve at your party.
Fruits/Vegetables Many fruits and vegetables can be eaten with your hands which make them great portable snack food. You can choose between grapes, apple slices, orange wedges, cherries, strawberries, and other fruits. For vegetables you can try celery sticks, carrot sticks, cucumber sticks, radishes cut into fourths, broccoli spears, cherry tomatoes, and more.
Trail Mix Trail mix can be fun to make on your own. You can include different nuts, cereals, shelled sunflower and pumpkin seeds, dried fruit, and other things as well. Trail mix can be a tasty snack and is often eaten without utensils, making it great for portable party food.
Soup If you are throwing a party in the winter time you can serve up soup for your guests. While soup is not considered a snack food it can still be a tasty treat for guests. Place soup in ceramic mugs. Guest can still roam around and talk with guest while enjoying the soup. You can keep the soup light offering a simple noodle and chicken broth soup if you wish. During the summer you could serve chilled soups instead.
Candy Mix You can over your guests a bit of a sweet treat with a candy mix. You can mix together marshmallows, small chocolate candies, or even chocolate covered raisins and/or nuts with other food items. Some of the other food items you can include in your candy mix would be nuts, raisins, pretzels, cereal, etc. This idea is similar to the trail mix, only with the inclusion of sweet treats.
Pretzels You can serve this salty treat to guests in different shapes and flavors. There are the classic pretzels twists, pretzel sticks, and even pretzel nuggets which can be found on the market today. Some pretzels are pre-flavored such as honey mustard pretzels or cheddar pretzels. You can also make your own flavored pretzels if you wish. You can dip pretzels in melted brown or white chocolate for a sweet treat. To take it one step further you can roll the chocolate covered pretzels in crushed nuts or candy sprinkles. Instead of chocolate you could dip the pretzel into peanut butter then roll around in crushed nuts, cereal, or even chocolate sprinkles.
Popcorn Fresh popped popcorn is a tasty treat and is a great portable snack for your next party. You can serve popcorn with plain butter and salt for a traditional flavor. Or you could serve homemade kettle corn for a sweet and salty version. Popcorn can also be mixed with other food ingredients to make a popcorn snack mix. Popcorn is perfect for mixing with salty and sweet treats.
Slices of Bread You can top bread slices with many different things to create a delicious portable snack food. Garlic bread is a tasty idea and quick to make. You can boost the flavor with the addition of shredded mozzarella and/or fresh grated parmesan cheese. You can serve your guests Brushetta, sliced of bread topped with various toppings, for a tasty portable snack. To make Brushetta you simply top slices of bread, Italian or French would be great options, with things like chopped tomatoes, zucchini, herbs, bell pepper, fried onions, etc. You could also brush slices of bread with an herb butter for guests to enjoy.
The Set Up
There are many creative and useful ways to set out the portable party food for your party. Creating a great set up is just as important as the food that you serve. Here are some things to keep in mind when setting out your food.
Dip Bowls You should set out several dip bowls throughout the room to ensure easy access for guests. This way guests can still enjoy some tasty dip with their vegetables or other party foods while mingling with the other guests. You should also try and serve a variety of dips so that your guests will have a choice.
Trash Bins Setting up trash bins around the room will help keep your room from becoming a disaster. This will also allow guests easy access to trash bins and don’t have to leave their conversation just to toss something away. If you are sticking with strictly reusable items then you can place bins around the room in which to collect these items.
Soup Dippers Soups can be fun to eat when you’ve included a dipper. Slices of bread, dinner rolls, biscuits, crackers, and croutons all make great soup dippers. For your portable soup mugs you can try several options. You can cut a slit into a slice of bread to stick it on the rim of each mug of soup. Or you could leave out a bowl of croutons with a scooper and allow guests to scoop up some croutons to put into their soup. This idea can also be used for oyster crackers. You could also set out a tray of biscuits and/or rolls for guests to use for dipping in their soup. You can set out bowls of croutons or oyster crackers throughout the room so that your guests will have easy access to refills.
Stations You can set up different stations if you are offering a variety of snack foods for your guests. You can set up a station for fruits and veggies, one for salty snacks, one for sweets, etc. This way guests can visit the table that has the snack foods that they want to eat.
Portable snack foods are easy to prepare making them great to serve at your next casual party. Consider serving these tasty treats at your next get together.
