Preparing a birthday party that include peanut allergy children (or any other food allergy/sensitivity children)

After publishing here in Minti my first article about For some reason people don’t like to invite peanut allergy kids to their children’s birthday party… I received many comments (Thank you all so much!) and one of them, given by hrs2004 , suggested that it would

Well – Here’s how it goes:

1) AWARENESSE - Once you find out that a child with peanut allergy is attending the party, you must understand that absolutely there shouldn’t be any peanuts AND nuts products, and there shouldn’t be any peanuts AND nuts traces in the products. Some people said to me in the past – well what about if you bring for your son his own food etc? NO. A birthday party is usually a very active venue (mildly speaking) and especially in toddler/pre-school ages – it is hard to control everything. If a child with “sticky” fingers (from the peanut food he had) would touch the allergic child – that will end in a fatal accident. So by all means – if you really want the allergic child to come – DO NOT HAVE ANYTHING THAT HAS PEANUTS AND NUTS TRACES. I also emphasize on the “AND” (I.E. peanuts AND nuts), because even if the child is only allergic to peanuts and not to nuts, and as advised to us by the Dr – nuts should be also avoided due to cross contamination. The other thing to be aware of is the “traces” word. It is true that these days, most manufacturers try to cover their “XXX” so no one would blame them – but please, don’t think that this “may contain traces of…” is just a joke and that nothing will happen. If there is a warning, even on a food that is hard to believe that can have peanuts – don’t buy it!

2) CHECKING FOOD LABELS - What ever you buy, you have to check carefully. And I mean EVERYTHING. If you buy 5 identical packets of chips of the same brand – check all of them! Don’t check just one and assume that the other identical 4 are ok too. Check them all. You’d also be surprised to discover that even some brands of tomato sauces (ketchup), mustard and so on - have peanuts traces warning on them. Sometimes a different size of the same brand may change the warning (I once bought dates. The 250 grams had peanuts warning on them. The 500-gram didn’t. I called the manufacturer and they explained that the 250-gram is made in a different factory to the 500 gram – which is a “peanut clean” factory.). Even the oil has to be checked. EVERYTHING. And don’t worry about the desserts – there are plenty of chocolates, candies and so on that are free from peanuts/nuts traces. Avoid also buying “loose” meat at the butcher’s. Buy only packed and labeled meat and foods. I strongly suggest that you’ll ask the parent of that child to accompany you on the day of the shopping. Parents of peanut allergy kids have more experience – and that would help you a lot. Again – I strongly suggest you’d ask for their help – don’t be embarrassed to do that. They will help, gladly.

3) CLEAN – if you plan to have a BBQ, clean it thoroughly! I have heard of an allergic girl that her parents had BBQ in their back yard. The food, of course, was checked as peanut-free. But the minute that girl ate the steak – she had an anaphylactic attack. Why? It turned out that the BBQ was not cleaned properly from the last time it was used, and that the Sate sauce that was used in the past managed to “stick” to the food the child had. Therefore – clean the BBQ, clean the oven (inner walls and trays), and clean the microwave inner walls and plate. Same goes for your house: most of us “silly” parents clean their home before the party (although we know it’s going to be dirty the minute those little ones will enter…). So – on the day you clean your home for the party and until the party – avoid giving peanuts/nuts foods to your kids or anyone else in the house. Why? Because if a little amount of peanut butter, that was left on the chair by those little dirty hands, would come into contact with the allergic child – that could be VERY dangerous. And if your child is “addicted” to peanut butter and you know he/she won’t take “no” as an answer – make sure to look at them carefully while they’re eating and wash their hands after. Another thing - you don't have to totally clean your house from peanuts foods. Just make sure they will be stored, on the day of the party, up, were little hands can't get them...

4) KEEP THE FOOD LABELS/PACKAGES – just to be on the safe side, and to reassure the allergic child’s parents, show them the labels and the packages when they come to the party. And I mean show them everything – from the oil you used, to the package of the chips.

5) THE CAKE – that’s the big one! The above 4 advices are somewhat of a hustle, somewhat new to your ways – but they can be done, especially since the allergic child’s parent would most likely volunteer to help and guide you. The cake is a different issue. I haven’t found a birthday cake manufacturer that has peanuts/nuts free cake. Meaning the cake might not have actual peanuts in it – but they always have traces in it. However – there are some “cheap” home-brands cakes that are “clean” – you can find them usually in the supermarkets. So here is how we solve it – we make our own cakes. Wait! Don’t shout! I’m not trying to force you making birthday cakes! All I’m saying is that you can ask the allergic child’s parent to make you the cake. Trust me – they would. By now, they are probably experts on that. And don’t worry if your child wants to have a theme cake (IE – Thomas The Tank, Batman, Barbie and so on). There are lots of theme cake tops in the supermarkets that are free from peanuts/nuts traces.

6) HAVING THE BIRTHDAY PARTY DONE BY CATERING – If you decide you want the party to be at McDonald’s for some reason or have a catering company coming to you – let them know about the fact that there’s an allergic child coming. They will check and let you know which foods are allowed, so you can choose a peanut-free menu. In regards to the cake – most likely is that you’ll need to avoid their cake, and use advice no 5.

7) CONGRATULATIONS! You did it! You had a great party, your kids enjoyed having their allergic friends over, and, more important – you’ve created awareness within you and your family. Thank you.