How to Design a Candy Buffet Bar for Your Little One’s Birthday

Creating a candy buffet bar for your child’s birthday party is a great way to buck tradition and tackle a fun, new trend. But if you’ve never done one before, you might have a lot of questions. How much candy should you order? What should you use to display it? Where can you get candy that is color coded to match your theme? And what’s the best way to set up your buffet? Luckily, you’re not the first one to jump on the candy buffet bar bandwagon. At this point, there are all kinds of options to help you design your birthday buffet with ease. Here are some tips to get you started.

The first thing you might want to do is check out the many designs online. A simple Google search for candy buffet bars will yield plenty of images to peruse, or you can hop on Pinterest to see the many amazing designs that other parents have crafted for their kids’ parties. Once you’ve selected a color scheme and/or theme to follow, it’s time to get down to brass tacks. And this means finding and ordering the elements that will bring your candy buffet together.

You probably already have a suitable table on which to display your buffet, but you might want to consider using a coffee table instead of a dining table, just for example. The reasoning behind this is simple: kids are short and you want to make it easy for them to reach the treats. You probably also have some decorative elements like a table cloth, a birthday banner, streamers, and containers in which to display the candy. If you want to create a cohesive look, though, you’ll be happy to hear that you can actually buy candy buffet kits. These often include items like bowls, platters, apothecary jars, and other candy canisters meant for display. You’ll also get scoops, tongs, and goodie bags for guests, in most cases.

These containers can be arranged in a variety of ways, but your best option is probably a tiered system that tapers down from the back of the table (or the center, if it’s accessible on all sides) to the front. Just make sure to take the time to test your system. Scooping items from the center can be a stretch for small hands, so in order to avoid accidents, you might want to place platters with larger items like cupcakes in the center and set jars with scoops closer to the edge.

There’s only one essential detail remaining and that is the candy. You’ll find plenty of options for bulk candy online, and many outlets sell by color, making it easy to get everything you need to support your theme. A general guide is to order about eight ounces of candy per guest. This should help to ensure that you don’t have tons left when the party ends. As for what type of candy to order, the easiest option is to take your child’s preferences into account. Just take care with hard candy. Although it’s suitable for adults, it can pose a choking hazard for kids. And keep in mind that you needn’t necessarily order party favors – the candy on your buffet bar not only acts as pretty decor and dessert for your child’s birthday party, but guests will also go home with goodie bags of treats.