Breakfast Party -2yr- Pancake Topping Bar

Breakfast Party!  When my daughter turned two, we knew we would have a wide age-range at the party, 1-10.  That makes it hard to plan games and pick a theme.  So we invited everyone for breakfast, moms and dads included.

I made the invitations on my computer and told everyone to come in PJ's, especially the kids.  We planned to serve sausage links, pancakes, juice, milk, and coffee.  I cooked the sausage links the night before and reheated them shortly before the party began.  The pancakes could be made in advance and frozen, but I chose to make them on the morning of the party.  The toppings were spectacular! 

We had five bowls, each filled with a different syrup.  I had cut up strawberries and put them in a bowl with sugar three days before so they had made a yummy syrup.  I took a bag of frozen blueberries and put them into the bowl (defrosted) with store-bought blueberry syrup.  I melted butter and brown sugar together then added bananas for another bowl. 

The apple topping was made by cutting up apples and softening them in a pan with butter.  Then I added the brown sugar and some cinnamon.  The final topping was just table syrup, heated up right before the guests arrived.  I had a few cans of whipped cream topping on the table for the kids to squirt and a dish of chocolate chips.  It was all much easier to prepare than it sounds. 

My kid was a big fan of teletubbies, so I also made up some "Tubby Toast" (these were definitely made in advance then reheated).  I made a bowl of pancake batter, then took about 1/2 cup out and set it aside.  I added cocoa powder to the rest of the batter.  I ladled the chocolate pancakes onto the grill then used a spoon to dab eyes and a mouth on each one using the batter that was still white.  They were delicious.  The meal was the main idea of the party, but we also had to have some activity to occupy our small guests. 

While my husband monitored the gift opening, I cleared the table and prepared for craft time.  I had been blowing eggs and saving the empty eggshells. \*\*Make a small hole on each end of the egg with a needle, then blow the contents through the egg - they can be for scrambled eggs or for recipes\*\* I set out a platter with some construction paper, scissors, gluesticks, paints, small brushes, stickers, markers, and crayons (all washable).  All ages can decorate eggs! 

It was not near Easter, which gave the kids more freedom to decorate with whatever they wanted.  Many of them created animals and characters from their eggs using markers and construction paper. From then until the last guest left, the party was just very relaxing.  The kids played with my daughter's new toys and the adults chatted and enjoyed their coffee.