A room full of rowdy kids can feel a bit terrifying at the best of times, but if you're laying on a birthday feast for them, too, things can get really stressful. Fear not. With some planning, you can put on a homemade feast to keep the children happy for hours, from healthy smoothie jellies to fiendish monster cupcakes. After all, they'll need the energy for all the dancing and musical chairs.

For more recipes perfect for entertaining a large group of kids, why not try our kids' party drinks recipes, kids' vegetarian party recipes or kids' party cake recipes. Get even more inspiration with our easy birthday cakes for kids and birthday ideas for kids at home.

As popular as sausage rolls and sandwiches are, they don't have to steal all the limelight when it comes to your savoury spread. Couscous salads, falafel and chicken satay can all be popular choices with kids. Providing colourful and tasty dips with vegetable crudités is a great way of sneaking some veg into little partygoers.

Or try our air fryer chicken nuggets for a failsafe and energy-efficient option.

Cutting sandwiches out with biscuit cutters to make them into fun shapes is bound to make them more attractive to younger kids. Our you're a star sarnies are great for little ones. Slightly older children are sure to like digging into a three-tier club sandwich with a variety of fillings, such as these kids' club sandwiches.

If you want to keep things simple then the age-old remedy of removing the crusts never fails to help. If your kids don't like eggs, have an allergy or are vegan, try these five-star egg-less mayo sandwiches. Get more ideas with our sandwich fillings for kids.

Low-sugar smoothie jellies with ice cream and frozen fruit sticks with passion fruit & lime drizzle are a nice way to balance out some of the more sugary treats. These fruit rice paper rolls look oh-so-pretty and kids will love dunking them into the mixed berry coulis dip.

It can also be a good idea to serve slices of birthday cake with a side portion of fruit to lighten the sugar load. Little jam tarts and birthday biscuits look as pretty as they taste. Also, discover our funny face cookies recipe which is a super fun way to interact with kids.

Children love things with their name on and these edible name place biscuits are sure to have the wow-factor – use them to mark out seating or wrap them in some pretty cellophane and pop them in a party bag.

Plates of mini cupcakes are sure to be a hit, and are easy to distribute around the table and don't require any cutting. Bringing along a plain batch and letting kids ice and decorate their own is a brilliant party activity to keep them happy and busy for a little while. If you have leftovers you can always pop them into a party bag, but grown-up helpers will probably give you a hand to polish them off.

These birthday cupcakes are sure to get the party started, or your unicorn-loving children will adore a batch of unicorn cupcakes. Our chocolate fudge cupcakes always go down a storm with chocoholics, and make some batches of gluten-free cupcakes and vegan cupcakes to cater to all dietary requirements.

Get inspired with our fun and easy kids' cupcake recipes, perfect for baking together. Looking for something simpler? Try our no-bake treats – sweet, fuss-free options that skip the oven for quick, energy-saving bakes.

Who doesn't love a themed birthday cake? But with shop-bought varieties or ordered cakes quickly racking up the pounds, it definitely pays to make your own. Plus it's great fun having such a creative project to work on and you can't beat the taste of a homemade cake. Our stunning, magical recipes are also much simpler to create than you think, so have faith and get stuck in! This party animal cake may look rather complicated, but with some edible flowers, ice cream cones, sprinkles and icing, you'll have a pretty-as-a-picture cake in no time.

For younger children it's hard to resist our chocolate owl, teddy cake or birthday bug cake. If you really want to set hearts racing then give your cakes a liberal sprinkling of edible glitter, sprinkles or decorate with soft sweets or lollipops – just don't forget the candles.

Refresh yourself

Playing 'pass the parcel' and running round in circles is thirsty work, so keep kids hydrated with some refreshing homemade drinks.

Slicing fruit into a cup with a little bit of juice and fizzy water is a fun way of serving up a soft punch, and great for getting a bit of fruit into kids. And it just wouldn't be a children's party without lashings of lemonade. Our strawberry lemonade is a summery twist on the classic version with fresh strawberries or try our watermelon lemonade served in hollowed out watermelons for extra fun.

Getting kids to sit down with a cooling, healthy ice lolly can be a good way of bringing the party to a gentle close and settling some of the excitement. Or fulfil all their childhood dreams with a naughty-but-nice knickerbocker glory and you're bound to have them sat round the table in no time. Or make our vanilla milkshake bar for a fun activity where kids can choose their own toppings.

Discover even more kids' party drink recipes.

Finally, if you've booked a venue but are still catering yourself then check out our blog on transporting food safely.