45 Ideas for Party Food and Treats

Parties are a lot of fun when spent with family, friends, and all the significant people in your life. Whatever the occasion is, it’s a day to socialize and enjoy special and delicious treats and drinks. If you’re a seasoned host who has run out of new ideas or a newbie party host who wants to impress at your first party – here are some creative ideas for foods and treats to serve!

1. Snowman Donuts

Perfect for a Christmas party, snowman donuts are fun to serve to delight children and adults alike. Bake or buy some classic powdered donuts, then insert a cone-shaped slice from carrots in the donut hole. Put two candy eyeballs on the top half of the donut, then chocolate chips at the bottom to form a mouth. To keep these things in place, you may need to use frosting.

2. Rainbow Slushies

Make batches of rainbow slushies with different flavors of Kool-Aid! Whether you’re hosting a children’s rainbow-themed/unicorn party or a Pride party, a rainbow slushie is a fitting refreshing drink after all the foods!

To make it, simply make slushies using a single flavor of Kool-Aid, ice, tonic water or Sprite, and sugar. Mix them all in a blender. Set aside on a pitcher, and make another batch of slushies of another color by using a different Kool-Aid flavor. Once you have made enough flavors (which make the different layers of the rainbow slushie), you can serve them individually in mason jars. On a mason jar, start layering the pre-made slushies (preferably purple and blue on the bottom) until you have the red one on top. Add colorful straws, and the slushies are ready to drink!

3. Pizza on a Stick

Think of this one as pizza kabobs – instead of laying down pizza ingredients on top of the dough, thread them on a stick Thread sausage pepperonimozzarella string cheese, and sliced black olives alternatively, and finish it with grape tomatoes at the end of the stick. Finally, stick the skewers on pineapple to serve and display.   

4. Sweetheart Cupcakes

Make Valentine’s Day party extra sweet and special by baking beautiful sweetheart cupcakes. Bake chocolate cupcakes, and make sure to fill the cupcake liners with more batter than usual because you need to have a bit of a dome above the top edge of the liners. Once the cupcakes have cooled, use a serrated knife to cut off the top of the cupcake. Use a small heart cookie cutter to cut out a heart shape in the center. Meanwhile, spread cherry frosting onto the cupcake base in a mounded shape. Place the top part of the cupcake back, and press it down a bit. If desired, sprinkle cupcake with powdered sugar.

5. Gold Medal Cookies

Hosting a victory party for an athlete in your life? Or are you hosting a graduation party for your child who finished with flying colors? Celebrate their victory with gold medal cookies!

It’s like baking sugar cookies, only with a little modification. After forming cookie doughs, combine one egg with six drops of yellow food coloring and a teaspoon of water. Whisk them together to form an egg wash. Lightly brush the cookies with the egg wash and sprinkle lightly with gold sanding sugar. At the top of each cookie, use a wide straw or a tip of a sharp paring knife to cut a circle wide enough to thread a ribbon through. Bake as usual while keeping the holes on the cookies intact. Then, thread a yard of ribbon on each cookie and tie the ends.

6. Strawberry and Blueberry Cheesecake Cupcakes

When looking for a dessert to serve at a July 4th, Memorial Day, or Labor Day party – look to naturally available red, white, and blue ingredients. Use fresh strawberries, fresh blueberries, and whipped cream to make a perfect patriotic dessert! Make mini cheesecakes with your recipe of choice, then top it with a thin layer of whipped cream, and put in slices of fresh strawberries and a couple of blueberries. Use American flag-inspired cupcake liners to solidify your theme.  

7. Harvest Moon Lollipops

Here’s a fun treat to serve at Halloween. It’s like cake pops, but using MoonPies, and decorated to your liking. Insert lollipop sticks about two inches into the marshmallow center of the MoonPie. Using orange candy melts and a piping bag, decorate the MoonPie in any way you like. Top it with candy corn, and Halloween candy sprinkles.

8. Granola cups

Hosting a bridal shower brunch or a tea party? These granola cups will be a hit for your health-conscious guests. On a large bowl, whisk together ½ cup olive oil, ½ cup honey or maple syrup, ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon, and ½ teaspoon salt. Then, mix in 3 cups of old-fashioned rolled oats, 1 cup sliced almonds, and a cup of raisins or other dried, chopped fruit that you like. Once the granola mixture has cooled, spray a little cooking spray on your cupcake tins and drop enough of the mixture about 2/3 full. Press the granola down gently, starting in the middle to form a bowl. Bake them for about 10-15 minutes. When the granola cups have cooled completely, fill them with yogurt of choice and top with fresh raspberries and chopped up strawberries.

9. Goat Cheese Roll Appetizer

Cheese plates with an assortment of cheese, nuts, cold cuts, fruits, and crackers are a common appetizer for any party. If you’re looking for a unique way to serve the cheese and use fewer ingredients, a cheese roll appetizer is a great idea. On a large plate, combine chopped roasted pistachios and chopped dried cranberries. Roll a log of goat cheese in the mixture to coat. Serve with crackers or bread.

10. Frozen S’mores

At a summer party, frozen s’mores will be a crowd-pleaser. Make s’mores by using layers of brownies, vanilla ice cream, chocolate ice cream, and marshmallow-topped chocolate wafer cookies on a clear glass baking sheet. Freeze overnight and serve.

11. Frog Cupcakes

Celebrating the leap year? Frogs are always associated with the event, so why not serve fun frog treats like frog cupcakes? Bake some chocolate cupcakes, top them with green frosting smoothly, then decorate using green M&M’s to mimic the green spots on frogs. Use Jordan almonds with black icing on the bottom for the eyes of the frogs, then use red icing to draw the frog’s mouth.

12. Patriotic Trifle

For Memorial Day, make an easy yet festive dessert to honor why you are celebrating. For this dessert, use the traditional trifle ingredients like ladyfingers, custard, and cream cheese, but use blueberries and strawberries as coloring. Layer them alternatively on the trifle bowl, and on the topmost layer, decorate the cream mixture with halved strawberries to form the red stripes, and gather blueberries on one corner to represent the blue part of the flag.

13. S’mores Pops

Here’s an easy holiday dessert to curb anyone’s cravings for s’mores. Put a large white marshmallow on a lollipop stick, dip it in melted chocolate, and then in crushed graham crackers mixed with colored sprinkles. Put them in a cookie sheet and refrigerate them so the chocolate will solidify. Coordinate this treat with your theme or whatever occasion you’re celebrating with the color of the sprinkles you add.

14. S’mores Cupcakes

S’mores are gooey and yummy, and you can make it extra special by making a cupcake out of them. Use vanilla cupcake mix and mix in graham cracker crumbs in the batter. Pour it in the bottom of the cupcake baking cups, and top it with more crushed graham crackers. Cut up some white marshmallows, and place them on top, then cover the marshmallows with chocolate cupcake batter. Bake and let cool. Top it with marshmallow frosting, drizzle some chocolate ganache, and sprinkle more crushed Grahams. Insert one rectangle piece from Hershey’s chocolate bar while the marshmallow frosting is still warm. Let cool and serve!

15. Melon Balls in Melon Bowls

Leaning in for a more natural dessert? Serve a natural melon ball fruit bowl! It’s a perfect accompaniment to brunch or any summer party menu. Cut up your cantaloupes in halves and reserve the rinds. Then, using a small melon baller, carve balls from a cantaloupe, watermelon, and honeydew melon. Fill each melon rind with an assortment of melons and garnish with mint leaves.

16. Candy Cornucopia

Cornucopias symbolize abundant harvest, which is a common Thanksgiving theme. If you’re looking for an easy yet appealing way to serve candy for a Thanksgiving party, make edible cornucopias with wafer cones. Steam the cones on a steamer with boiling water for 30 seconds. Using a tong, take out the cones and bend the end, so it looks like a cornucopia. Leave the tong in place for about 10-15 seconds, so the shape stays that way. Then, fill it with candy-like candy cornorange M&Ms, and white marshmallows.

17. Marshmallow Chocolate-covered Bunnies

These cute and sweet Easter bunnies are so easy to put together. They make a fun party favor or an Easter basket treat when wrapped in clear cellophane bags and tied with an orange ribbon. Stick Peeps marshmallow bunnies onto lollipop sticks. Dip them in melted chocolate and set them to cool. Decorate the bunny’s face using two small candy eyes. Then, attach an orange jelly bean to each bunny for a carrot. Halve green jelly beans and snip the ends to resemble carrot tops and attach them to the base of the carrot.

18. Carrot Cake Pops

Cake pops are usually round, but you can make an elongated one in the shape of a carrot for a perfect Easter Party treat. Make long cake pops using crumbled carrot cake mixed with cream cheese frosting. Shape them into carrots and refrigerate them for an hour. Meanwhile, dip the cake pop sticks to melted green candy, then insert the carrot-shaped cake pops into the stick. The green candy melt will automatically pool at the end of the stick, resembling a carrot top. Then, dip the carrot cake pops into melted orange candy melts. Stick the cake pops in a Styrofoam block to let dry.

19. Pink Champagne Popsicles

There’s no better refreshment to serve at a bridal shower brunch party or a Galentine’s party than berry-infused champagne popsicles! Simply fill up half a popsicle mold with a berry-infused bubbly or sparkling wine, then fill it up with the extra dry champagne of your choice. Layer it up with chopped mix berries, apple slices, and pomegranate arils to keep it fancy. Insert popsicle sticks, freeze and serve.

20. Caprese Stars

Celebrate the 4th of July with a simple yet tasty and eye-catching appetizer: Caprese stars. It’s made of puff pastry cut out as stars and sprinkled with parmesan cheese. Bake as usual and let cool. Then, use blue star toothpicks to skewer mozzarella slices, basil, and cherry tomatoes into the top of the star.

21. Peppermint Bark

Peppermint bark is the candy you can’t wait to get your hands on every Christmas holiday season. Luckily, you can make it quick. Spread a peppermint-infused semisweet chocolate on a baking sheet, and line it up with white chocolate on top. Sprinkle crushed candy canes and refrigerate until set.

22. Watermelon mojitos

Summertime and watermelons go hand in hand, so for your upcoming pool party, make sure you serve watermelon mojitos. For every drink, muddle two watermelon chunks with the juice of one lime and two teaspoons of sugar in a glass. Stir in a handful of mint leaves, and add two ounces of white rum and ice for each glass. Top it with ginger ale.  

23. Watermelon and Strawberry Salad

Here’s a watermelon salad with a twist – add ginger syrup. It’s simple, tasty, and can really cool you down a bit. Mix halved strawberries and cubed watermelon bites in a large bowl. Bring ½ cup sugar, 1 cup water, and 1-2 inch of peeled ginger to a boil in a small saucepan. Let it simmer for five minutes, cool at room temperature. Discard the ginger, and add the syrup to the watermelon and berries. Cool it in the fridge before serving.

24. Creamy Avocado Dip with Scallions

Looking to serve a whole new kind of dip for your chips at the party. With the mix of scallions plus avocado and yogurt, this dip has a taste and texture that’s somewhere between an onion dip and guacamole. First, cook sliced scallions in one tablespoon of oil and a pinch of salt in a saucepan. Transfer the scallions and oil to a medium bowl, then add a coarsely chopped avocado, ¾ cup plain Greek yogurt, ¾ teaspoon salt, and stir to combine. As you stir, lightly mash the avocado, so the texture becomes slightly chunky. Top it with finely chopped scallions, and serve with tortilla chips.

25. Corned Beef and Cabbage Rolls

Make some lettuce wraps, St. Patrick’s Day-style. Spread mayonnaise herbed with parsley and dill on cooked Savoy cabbage leaves. Top it with a strip of rye bread and strips of corned beef, and roll.

26. Strawberry Pop-Tarts on a Stick

Everything tastes better on a stick. Using flaky pie crust filled with strawberry jelly, bake your own pop tarts using store-bought ingredients or make your own pastry and filling from scratch. Finish it off with a layer of pink glaze (mixture of powdered sugar, water, and food coloring) and sprinkle with pink sanding sugar.

27. Strawberry-Lime Stuffed Cupcakes

Strawberries stuffed inside a vanilla cupcake with lime buttercream frosting? We’ll say yes to that! This would be a hit for your Easter or spring shindig or a baby or bridal shower. Bake some vanilla cupcakes, remove a strawberry-coned shape of cake from the top of each cupcake, then stuff it with a whole strawberry. Cover the hole with a little bit of cake, then spread lime icing over the cupcakes. Sprinkle it with green sanding sugar. Serve them on strawberry cupcake wrappers.

28. Santa Claus Crackers

Assemble festive and jolly hors d’oeuvres for a Christmas party that everyone will love! A tasty Santa Claus crackers will tickle everyone’s appetite for a yummy Christmas dinner. Use kitchen scissors to cut a Santa hat out of a pepperoni, then attach it to a round cracker with a dab of ricotta, Spread on a ricotta beard on the bottom part of the cracker. Then, add celery slices for a mustache and use capers for the eyes and nose. Cover the bottom of the hat with more ricotta for a fluffy trim. 

29. Apple cider cups

Hosting a little fall party at home with the family? Serve some apple cider cups for everyone. It’s cute, delicious, and nutritious! First, prepare your apple cups. Cut off the top of an apple, then take a paring knife to outline where you’d want the rim of your apple cup to be. Use a spoon or a melon baller to carefully scoop out the center of the apple until you have a nice cup. Brush a little lemon juice over the insides of the apples to prevent browning, then fill it with your favorite apple cider. Garnish it with cinnamon sticks or spices, and serve.

30. Chocolate-covered Oreos

Chocolate-covered Oreos looks so fancy, but they’re incredibly easy to make. Simply dip them in candy melts in whatever color you want them to be, then place them on a sheet of parchment paper to decorate with sprinkles. The sprinkles you choose should reflect the occasion – whether it’s a boy baby showergirl baby showerbridal showerHalloweenThanksgivingValentine’s DayChristmas4th of July or whatever.

31. S’mores Brownie Sundae Bar

Set up a s’mores brownie bar at a kid’s party and watch their faces light up! Instead of worrying about the combo of kids and a campfire at a party, make it easy on yourself by baking marshmallows in a casserole dish (think marshmallows topping yams for Thanksgiving) and let everyone simply scoop out the roasted marshmallows safely and uniquely. Then, they can pile on the rest of the s’mores fixings along with their favorite candies as toppings. Serve brownies, vanilla ice cream, milk chocolate barscrushed graham crackerschocolate syrup, whipped cream, and your baked marshmallows. You may also want to serve chopped-up Reese’s, sliced strawberries and fruit, chopped nuts, and M&Ms. Serve all these ingredients on a table so kids can build their own sundaes.

32. Pancake Board

For a wonderful brunch, serve a pancake board instead of a cheeseboard. Get an extra-large board for serving and arrange hot pancakes down the center of the board, just as you would serve round crackers on a cheeseboard. Cook pancakes that are worth four tablespoons of batter each, so they are not too big but not too small either. On one side, serve scrambled eggs in a bowl and bacon. On the other side, serve chopped strawberries, blueberries, chopped-up bananas, and chocolate chips in bowls. Serve maple syrup in a gravy boat and small butter slices as well.

33. Pencil Cake Pops

Pencil cake pops are fun, cute, and will impress people of all ages – from preschoolers to principals! If you are hosting a back-to-school party or any school-themed party, you can start with pencil cake pops. Bake as you would bake cake pops and form the cake pop dough in the shape of a stout and short pencil. Use candy wafers to cover the cake pops with: yellow for the most of the pencil, white for the sharpened part, pink for the eraser part, and black for the tip of the pencil and the metal area that binds the eraser to the pencil.

Candy wafers

34. Apple Snack Mix in Wafer Cones

With apple chips and cereal in different shapes, this cute mix makes a great party appetizer. Simply mix dried apple chips, mini-pretzels, roasted peanuts, Frosted Cheerios, Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal, Apple Cinnamon Cheerios, raisins, sunflower kernels, and apple green jelly beans in an airtight container. Serve them in ice cream cones.

35. Olympic torch cupcakes

Having an Olympic-themed party or hosting an Olympics viewing party? Make sure the treats you serve fit the theme, so start with Olympic torch cupcakes! It’s fun and easy to make – just scoop out a cupcake batter (of any flavor you want) and put it in ice cream cones. Place these cones in high baking dishes, like bread or loaf pans. Bake it at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes, and once cooled, you can decorate. Using an icing piping bag and decorating tip, pipe on some yellow icing on the top of the cake. Then, make a “flame” using a cut-up fruit roll-up wrapped around a toothpick.  

36. Mediterranean Pastry Pinwheels

Make some quick and easy-baked appetizers using puff pastry. Roll puff pastry up like a pinwheel and spread a mixture of cream cheese and pesto. Top with chopped-up olives, sundried tomatoes, and pepper. Bake and serve.

37. Ham and Cheese Quiches

Quiche is a finger food that just keeps giving. When you eat one, your hand naturally reaches for another. Make a quiche that has cheese in both the crust and the filling. Top it with finely chopped ham and Monterey Jack cheese, and it’s sure to be a crowd-pleaser.

38. Cookies and Cream Fudge

Everyone likes cookies and cream, and it’s a flavor that you can’t say no to. The crunchy chunks of Oreo cookies soften a bit as the mixture mellows. In a square dishpan, sprinkle some broken Oreo cookies. Combine two tablespoons of butter, a can of condensed milk, and two cups of white baking chips in a heavy saucepan, pour it over the pan, then sprinkle with some more broken cookies. Cover and refrigerate, then cut it into squares once hard.

39. Waffle Fry Nachos

Here’s an easy and tasty appetizer to serve when friends come over and have a movie marathon watching party. Bake some frozen waffle fries according to package directions, then transfer them to an oven-proof skillet. Top it with crunchy bacon crumbles, sliced green onions, sliced ripe olives, salsa, chopped tomatoes, shredded cheddar cheese, and shredded Monterey Jack cheese Melt the cheeses in the oven for five minutes, then serve with sour cream dip.  

40. Marshmallow Fruit Dip

Whip up this sweet and creamy dip for just 10 minutes. It’s best to serve in a bowl with fresh fruits for your spring luncheons, brunches, or tea parties. On a large bowl, beat cream cheese and cherry yogurt until blended. Then, fold in whipped topping and marshmallow crème.

41. Party Tots

It’s not a party without tater tots! These deliciously crispy baked tater tots with delicious toppings will make a fantastic appetizer that everyone will love. Simply bake the tater tots, layer them on a baking pan, then spread shredded cheddar cheese on top. Return it to the oven just long enough to melt the cheese, then layer it with crushed bacon, chopped-up tomatoes, jalapeno, chopped-up cucumber, and guacamole. Drizzle sour cream all around.

42. Cucumber Canapes

Here’s a delicate finger sandwich with a special creamy herb spread that will surely please the crowd. It’s great to serve for a tea party or any dinner party in your home. Make the bread spread by mixing 1 cup mayonnaise, 3 oz. cream cheese, grated onions, minced chives, half teaspoon cider vinegar, half teaspoon Worcestershire sauce, minced garlic, paprika, curry powder, and dried herbs (basil and oregano,  thyme, and parsley). Combine them all in a blender or food processor and refrigerate. Now that the hard part is done, cut out circles from bread slices and spread the mixture over bread. Top it with cucumber slices, and garnish with diced pimientos.

43. Marinated Shrimp

Shrimp, when served as an appetizer, is a great way to impress your guests. Serve zesty marinated shrimp in clear dessert cups. In a large bowl, mix 12 lemon slices, thinly sliced red onion, ½ cup lime juice, ½ cup canola oil, a tablespoon of minced fresh parsley, a pinch of salt, a little bit of hot pepper sauce, and a pinch of dill weed. Toss two pounds of peeled and deveined cooked shrimp and marinate for at least four hours. Drain before serving.

44. Turkey Cupcakes

If you want to serve a different kind of dessert for Thanksgiving besides pies, this is a great idea. Decorate cupcakes as turkeys with the help of pretzels, candy corn, M&Ms, and candy eyes. To do that, bake some chocolate cupcakes and frost them with chocolate icing. Make a large frosting dollop for the turkey’s body, and add a smaller one on top for the face. Place two pretzels at the back of the cupcake for the tail, and arrange four candy corns to finish the tail. Place another candy corn on the smaller dollop to make the beak, and add three brown M&Ms for each side for the wings. Finish it with two candy eyes for the eyes of the turkey.

45. Potato Chip Clusters

Mix three offbeat ingredients to make a unique and delectable treat for munching during the holidays. Melt white baking chocolate, then stir it in with crushed ridge potato chips and chopped pecans. Drops a tablespoonful into cupcake liners for serving. Instead of potato chips, you can also use shoestring potatoes or Fritos