How to Make a Family Friendly Party Platter
Learn how to put together an easy, beautiful, and nourishing kid-friendly snack board. This post is sponsored by Horizon Organic.
One of my favorite things to make when we have friends over is a big snack board loaded up with beautiful food. My girlfriends and I catch up over nibbles and laughter while the kids run around. It’s absolutely my happy place. Making a big, beautiful snack platter is so easy and fun that I wanted to share how to make a kid-friendly version. This one is sure to bring all ages together.
Kids love variety, so while snack platters may seem like a grownup idea, they are actually great for the whole family (and friends)! I like my snack platters to be filled with wholesome, real foods. This version was incredibly easy to put together with a few store-bought goodies. Since our friends’ children range in age from 1 to 10 years old, I’ve added some fun, organic goodies from Horizon to entice our littlest guests over to the table. My girls think I’m just the “best ever” when I have Horizon crackers and fruit snacks around, and I love that they’re made without artificial colors or flavors.
Step 1: Gather the goods.
I like to peruse my refrigerator and the produce aisle for fresh fruits and veggies first. Look for a variety of colors and sizes when choosing your produce. Grapes are a classic place to start and a bundle in the center of the platter helps to anchor the whole arrangement. Some ingredients that work well are: hummus, dips, cheese, olives, nuts, fruit, veggies, and crackers.
Step 2: Arrange the ingredients!
I like to add fresh herbs or large edible leaves around the platter. I’ve used a 16-inch round serving tray here, but you can vary the size and amount of ingredients depending on the crowd. Here I’ve used grape leaves that were growing in my neighborhood. In the winter I snip rosemary and arrange it around the perimeter of the platter like a wreath.
Add any small bowls containing wet ingredients like hummus, dips, or olives to the platter. After your produce is washed and dried, it’s time to start arranging. Group the ingredients together around the platter. Don’t worry – this does not have to be perfect. Beautifully imperfect is what it’s all about! Keep piling on the ingredients until the whole platter is covered.
Quick tip! Keep wet foods away from crackers, bread, or nuts so that they don’t get soggy.
I hope you’re enjoying the summer and get a chance to have your friends over for a big summery snack tray.
xx,
Marina
Family Friendly Party Platter
Ideas for putting together an easy, beautiful, and wholesome snack platter that all ages will love. The ingredients listed below are perfect for summer entertaining, but feel free to use different ones depending on the season.
Ingredients
- grapes
- cherries
- apricots
- figs
- cucumber sticks
- carrots sticks
- celery sticks
- 1 cup hummus
- 1 cup favorite nuts (cashews, almonds, etc.)
- Horizon Organic Peanut Butter Sandwich Crackers
- Horizon Golden Wheat Snack Crackers
- Horizon Organic Fruit Snacks
- 1 cup fresh berries
- fresh herbs and/or edible flowers for garnish
Instructions
- Get a large platter or board ready. I used a 16-inch round tray for this post. Wash and dry any produce.
- Place the largest items in the center or down a center line. I start with a bundle of grapes in the middle. Next place any bowls of hummus, dips, olives, nuts, crackers, etc. Group the ingredients around the platter. Fill in any gaps on the board until it's completely covered with goodies.
