Parties

With a bit of forethought, there's no reason your child can't enjoy the same fun times as any other child.

• Gluten-free party ideas
• Gluten-free party food
• Birthday cakes
• Attending a party

Gluten-free party ideas:

1. Make gluten-free butterfly cakes and get all the children to decorate their own cake, using different coloured icing, and gluten-free cake decorations. They can then eat this as their dessert or take it home in their party bag.
2. Buy plain coloured food boxes (available from party supply shops) and get the children to decorate them with stickers and a name label.  Then you can put a selection of food into each box.
3. Party bags - ask your local greengrocer if you can buy some of their brown paper bags.  Trace pictures from colouring books or magazines onto the bags and get the children to colour them in.  Individual, cheap party bags!
   

Gluten-free party food

1. gluten-free chicken nuggets – make your own with our recipe or check your Coeliac UK Food and Drink Directory for supermarket versions
2. gluten-free cocktail sausages and mini hot dog sausages
3. sandwiches – using gluten-free bread
4. crisps – try and ensure that only gluten-free crisps are bought as crisps usually get emptied into communal bowls
5. fruit squash – most, but not all, fruit cordials are gluten-free but it's worth checking just in case
6. desserts – fairy or butterfly cakes (get your child to help you decorate them) or let them choose a dessert they would like to take with them such as gluten-free chocolate mousse
7. sweets – always take along substitutes for party bags and prizes for games 
8. tomato ketchup – if hot food is served it is always useful to take along a couple of sachets of gluten-free ketchup.

Birthday cakes

Make a victoria sandwich and fill with jam of your choice and buttercream.  Using ready roll icing, cut a circle large enough to fit the top of the cake.  Trace your child’s favourite character from a magazine or book using tracing paper or baking paper and trace it back onto the icing using a non-toxic pencil.  Using powdered food colouring (available from cake decorating shops) and paint brushes (from an art shop) fill in the traced outline using the original picture as your guide.  Alternatively, spread top of cake with buttercream and cover with your child’s favourite sweets or cake decorations. 

If all else fails and you haven’t got time to make a cake, you can always buy one.  Check the product's label or your Food and Drink Directory for gluten-free versions.

You can always try cooking something special using a recipe from one of our gluten-free cook books.

Attending a party

Whilst it's important to give your child the independence to manage their own diet, there are circumstances, like at parties, where it's a good idea to discuss your child's dietary requirements with the organiser. 

It's worth bearing in mind that the party organiser will probably be very busy, so don’t automatically expect them to cater for your child.  Ask what types of party food are being prepared so you can substitute similar gluten-free versions.  Perhaps you could bring along gluten-free alternatives for everyone to try so your child feels included.

If the party is taking place at an activity centre, it's worth ringing the centre before hand to check what food is provided as part of the party package as it isn’t normally gluten-free. Desserts are often branded ice lollies which you can check are gluten-free.