Sloppy joes at a bday party?

sunnydays99

Would you be annoyed if sloppy joes were served at a children's bday party?

We're having DS's 3rd bday at a gymnastics club.  We will do 1 hour in the gym then we have 1 hour in the party room.  The party room only has a fridge and microwave so I'm trying to think of foods that I can serve that don't require a stove / oven.  The obvious answer would be deli meat sandwiches which I'm strongly considering.  Another option I thought of would be to make sloppy joes (probably using ground turkey) in a crockpot or electric skillet.  I'm concerned that parents will be really annoyed if the kids get messy. 

So, would you be annoyed or do you just assume kids will be messy regardless of what they eat?!?

JuneBugBaby2012

I know my kids won't eat sloppy joes so how about crockpot macaroni and cheese?

Spin313

I wouldn't do it.

A would wager that most kids wouldn't eat it, and yes some of the parents would be annoyed by the mess.

AgrippaRidesAgain

I third the pizza.  Sloppy joes are, well, sloppy, and my kids wouldn't eat them.  DS didn't start liking deli meat sandwiches either until he hit 4.

Mac and cheese in the crockpot might work. 

sunnydays99

Thanks girls. I made Mac cheese for his bday last year, so that's a no go. Thanks for the other suggestions.

ss+el

I actually like your idea. DS loves sloppy joes. As long as you don't make them super saucy I think they'd be fine. Any mess would be meat crumbs on the floor, which should annoy the venue more than the other parents

meldoo2002

I wouldn't be annoyed by the mess, but my kids wouldn't eat them.  

bcvolleymom

I did sloppy joes for my son's third birthday and it was not a problem.  We also did hot dogs so people could have a sloppy joe sandwich, plain hot dog or a coney dog.  I don't think the kids ended up any messier than they would have with pizza sauce everywhere.

rsd12

My kids would not eat mac and cheeese, chilli, or sloppy joes and they are not picky eaters.... so I find it to be a little odd to serve that only at a birthday party for kids at this age. I would do subs or pizza... finger foods are soo much easier... or what about chhicken nuggets?

jlw2505

I would never do Sloppy Joes for a birthday party - forget the mess which would be out of control, I don't know many kids that would actually them.  Personally, stick to a deli tray of pre-made sandwiches (do a variety of different kinds) or order pizza to be delivered to the gymnastics place.  I have ordered Subway trays for parties and it works out great.

jlw2505

lolonyo:

Thanks girls. I made Mac cheese for his bday last year, so that's a no go. Thanks for the other suggestions.

  Just because you did Mac and Cheese last year, why can't you do it again?  I doubt any of the kids or even the parents would remember what was served a year ago and I don't know many kids that would care if they ate Mac and Cheese every day.

penguingrrl

I wouldn't be annoyed, but my kids wouldn't eat it either. Neither likes soupy/saucy things, so sloppy joe's, chilly, etc would not work for them. I would either do deli sandwiches or pizza; I think those are more likely to go over well with that age group.

outnumbered

Most kids that age will not eat sloppy joes.  Who cares what you made last year?  Nobody, but you remembers.    Go for mac and cheese, pizza, or deli sandwiches.