A Hawaiian luau is a wonderful way to celebrate your child's summer birthday or graduation. Finger foods can allow kids to mingle and run around while eating, but some some traditional Hawaiian dishes may turn off picky young eaters. Ensure that your party is a success by serving kid-friendly fare that does not require the use of cumbersome utensils.
Fruit
Fruit is a colorful, nutritious, easy-to-serve side dish for a luau. If the children are very young, they may enjoy familiar fruits such as apples, bananas, strawberries and oranges. For elementary-school aged children and beyond, be creative and offer them a mix of tropical fruits, suggests the Top Party Ideas website. Include passion fruit, papaya, pineapple, mango and coconut. Cut all fruits into easily managed slices or chunks and separate by type of fruit to avoid having kids picking through a bowl of mixed fruit with their hands. Another way to serve fruit is to to thread them onto skewers and make fruit kabobs.
Main Dish Finger Foods
Serve kids easy-to-eat main dishes such as chicken katsu strips. Offer different dipping sauces, such as a sweet-and-sour or teriyaki sauce. Top Party Ideas also suggests making or buying small egg rolls. Make ham and pineapple skewers, alternating chunks of meat and fruit. Chunks of colorful bell peppers can add crunch and color. Kids may enjoy spam musubi, which the Huffington Post describes as spam, a fried egg and rice bundled together with a wrapping of dried seaweed.
Snacks and Desserts
If all of the children at the party are over the age of four, put out bowls of macadamia nuts, suggests the website A Friend in the Islands. Avoid this if you have younger children attending who may choke on whole nuts, and ask your guests about allergies ahead of time. Use cookie cutters to make cookies in the shape of seashells, palm trees, fish and other luau-themed shapes. Cut easy-to-handle slices of pineapple upside-down cake or serve coconut macaroons.
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