Like most of us who have led a sheltered life, when I was asked if I knew what a ‘frog in a pond’ was, my vacant look said it all. But it seems when it comes to catering ideas for kid’s birthday parties these days, I’ve been hiding under a lily pond leaf.

A ‘frog in a pond’ is a crazy dessert idea where you fill a plastic cup with red and green jelly plop a chocolate Freddo in it with just the eyes sticking out, stick it the fridge to let it set and voila, you have your ‘frog in a pond’.

All of a sudden, my own creative juices started flowing and I suggested hesitantly that you could vary the recipe by sticking a green or red jelly frog in the cup instead of a chocolate Freddo. My brilliant idea fell on deaf ears with the kid’s party pros. “Stick to the tried and true recipe.” I was told in no uncertain terms.

Undaunted I started trawling the net for other ‘out there’ catering ideas for kids’ parties and I was flooded with a wave of curious concoctions, as parents try to go one better than little Betty’s birthday fairy bread that Lucy had been served at last weekend’s party. How 90s is that? It’s a bit like being invited to a dinner party and finding a fondue in the middle of the dining room table with a game of Twister laid out on the floor beside it!

Unless a kid’s birthday is ‘themed’ these days, you’re likely to end up with a whole lot of no shows when ‘party-time’ rolls around. Even my own daughter is on the act, creating ‘Thomas The Tank Engines’ and cabooses out of cardboard for my grandson’s birthday and serving cupcakes in the shape of coal wagons!

Here’s a couple of quirky catering ideas that caught my eye. Every little girl would love a mermaid-themed birthday party complete with croissant crabs with a pair of eyes popping out of the croissant on toothpicks and turtle cupcakes made from green and red jelly jube turtles with mint leave flippers. Where do Mums get the time to think up great ideas like this?

And what little boy wouldn’t kill for a superhero-themed party? What kid could resist a Thor Hammer complete with a cheddar cheese square hammer head and a pretzel stick shaft. Then there’s the Captain America shield cookie. Get a wagon wheel or similar round biscuit, cover it with red, white and blue icing circles and place a jelly start in the middle.

I even found an idea for a Captain America ham and cheese roll. Take a hamburger bun fill it with ham and cheese and then get a cookie cutter (in the shape of a star) and press out a star shape on the top of the bun. Instant superhero food that at least has some nutritional value.

My mind boggled at the other ideas I discovered online. What about a grape caterpillar? Green grapes skewered on a kebab stick with a pair of eyes on the ‘head grape’! Then there were strawberry mushrooms. An inverted strawberry sprinkled with icing sugar and small chunks of white chocolate on a skewer with a white marshmallow underneath the strawberry for a stalk.

But the best was a new version on an oldie that Mum used to make for us using half a poached pear and a licorice stick. A half a strawberry, with slivered almonds for ears, a chocolate button for a nose and pieces of stick licorice for the tail and whiskers. Put half a dozen on a plate with a couple of slices of Swiss cheese with holes in it and you have a tray of strawberry mice!

Sunflower cupcakes, Baby Bel cheese ladybugs … I was swamped with ideas. Which got us thinking at All Aboard Seafoods. We cater for parties and get-togethers for kids and adult birthday parties, anniversaries, engagements, weddings and yes, even funerals.

Talk to us about catering for your next kid’s birthday parties and ask us about our mini hot dogs (a cocktail frankfurt in a small dinner role) our Baby burgers (a mini-beef patty on a specially sourced glazed bun) and yes, our frogs on a pond plus a million other ‘out-there’ ideas that are sure to make you the envy of every other Mum looking to go one better than Betty’s fairy bread.

Contact Rino on (phone) or email him at rino@allaboardseafoods.com.au  or visit our website www.allaboardseafoods.com.au. We are on Facebook too.

For now check out some examples I found on Google: