Class Halloween Party

[mmcdaniels]

I'm sure lots of you have dealt with this but I would love some ideas. I am one of the 2 room parents for my son's class which is great because it does allow me to protect him from unsafe foods. The other room parent is not willing to really even consider making things safe for Josh and I'm getting very frustrated.

She suggested a Sundae bar with waffle bowls. I countered by offering to bring hot gluten-free brownies instead of the waffle bowls but she insists on keeping the waffle bowls and doing the brownies, too. I'm figuring the ice cream (which I am also bringing) will be quickly cross-contaminated. Not to mention she wants to have toppings like crushed oreos (picture all the gluten in the air!). I will be there and will dish Josh's ice cream first in a clean dish with a clean scoop so his original portion should be safe. Still it is really irratating me that I am going through the time and expense of Breyer's ice cream and a double batch of Pamela's brownies and everything will be so ruined by cross contamination my son couldn't even have seconds. I may individually wrap each brownie so any leftover brownies would remain safe from cross contanimation but I can't think it would be possible to avoid cross contanimating the ice cream when sccoping it into waffle bowls. And who would prefer a waffle bowl to a brownie anyway?

Any suggestions? I know it could be worse. I will be there to protect my son's interest but why have so much gluten in a Sundae bar?!

[celiac-mommy]

That totally stinks that the other mom is being such a pain in the arse! Individually wrapping the brownies is a good idea. To prevent the ice cream from cc, you could have 1 designated for the waffle bowl and one for the brownie. To compromise, you could get cookies and cream ice cream instead of the oreo's to prevent the crumbs. You could use the gluten-free oreos but they're pretty spendy. Can you do all the shopping and have her pay for 1/2? That way you can control what is purchased.

I'd rather have the brownie too, but I think my kids would think the waffle bowl was super cool--they do when they see them at Cold Stone anyway-and can't eat them either. I have a recipe for gluten-free waffle cones somewhere, it all depends on how much time you have before the party...

[cruelshoes]

You are doing all the right things by volunteering to help with the party and scooping your son's portion out first. You might conveniently volunteer to set up the toppings so that the gluten stuff is one one side of the table and the gluten-free stuff is on the other. The other mom wants to do things her way, so you are probably better off not fighting and just going around her so your son gets a safe treat.

PS - scoop your son out a portion big enough to make his head explode.

[mmcdaniels]

Thank you for the ideas and support. Great idea to use separate ice creams--I was planning to bring 2 anyway. I think I'll also take you up on the big portion, especially since I'm sure I'll be confiscating most of his Halloween treats. He's allergic to peanuts too so unless I'm sure it's gluten and peanut free he doesn't get them.

[Juliebove]

My daughter's class had the waffle bowls last year. Guess what? Most of the kids didn't eat the waffle bowls at all! They threw them out. Daughter couldn't have any ice cream last year so I bought her some sorbet in a totally separate container. I just had her eat it out of the container. I think most of the toppings were safe for her. There was caramel syrup and she couldn't have that. I didn't see that anything got cross contaminated.

I offered to bring cookies for her Halloween party. I bought individually wrapped ones. The gluten free one I bought for her contains eggs and dairy. She wasn't too thrilled about that. She used to be allergic to eggs and dairy and we have to be careful that she doesn't get them too often. But other than that it would be just the Enjoy Life kind and she gets those all the time. There are some other large gluten-free cookies we could buy that are devoid of the eggs and dairy but she doesn't like them at all. Somebody else is bringing Rice Crispy treats and there will be Chex mix.

I was thrilled when the teacher said there was to be only one snack. Either cookies or cupcakes. But apparently the other parents didn't understand the message. I don't think kids need all that food, especially right after lunch. I will probably also bring a bag of gluten-free pretzels and Rice Chex mixed for daughter. I figure since the cookies are already wrapped, they can bring them home if they don't want to eat them there. I did the same last year and a lot of them were brought home.

[shayesmom]

Any suggestions? I know it could be worse. I will be there to protect my son's interest but why have so much gluten in a Sundae bar?!

Besides all of the gluten, why on earth does there need to be so much sugar and assorted junk food involved??? Even as a "treat", this sundae bar is a bit over the top and I doubt there's a kid there that can eat all of the stuff being contemplated....nor should they! Sadly, I'm sure that the other mom's suggestion of waffle bowls is based solely on her idea of how it is all visually presented. And for that, I'd suggest spending an extra dollar or two and getting some Halloween themed paper bowls instead. The kids aren't going to give a teeny, tiny rat's behind about this. What they really care about is the "break" from their everyday routine at school and the chance to socialize with their friends in a more relaxed and open classroom setting.

Truly, you are going to need to explain to the other mom that the waffle bowls are just not an option in terms of your son's diagnosis. His physical health should not be jeopardized for the sake of asthetics. If she doesn't like it, too bad. Perhaps she can also be in charge of caring for your sick son once he's cross-contaminated from all of her "party necessities"??? If she still complains, give her the location of the gluten-free items needed to replace the foods she is so adamant on having and tell her she can drive to the health food stores, buy the products (for the entire class), and you will make it. The sticker shock alone may knock some sense into her and also ease your path for the future Thanksgiving, Christmas and Valentine's Day parties where she's currently sure to go over the top yet again.

Yikes. That is just plain scary (Halloween or no).

[Cheri A]

ITA with everyone else. That is way too much stuff for party, especially since it is Halloween. If there is noone else that is gluten-free, I'd let her do the waffle bowls and bring your son a brownie to eat with his ice cream. That way you have the leftovers at home for him to enjoy later. Definitely give him an extra big scoop of ice cream, too.

My dd's class is decorating sugar cookies. The kids with allergies are in the first group (3 this year). We'll scoop the frosting onto the plates and Carleigh gets dibs on the sprinkles first. I made her pumpkins and bat cut-outs. I'll bring one of each and the rest stay at home for later.

I hope that you can talk some sense into the other mom for the next party.