Having allergies and diet restrictions can be hard, but that doesn’t mean you can’t throw a party! I let my imagination run wild when I started coming up with ideas for this allergy-friendly winter party food plan & recipes guide! My family thought I was crazy, but they sure did appreciate the after affects, with so many delicious goodies around the house. So, if you’re wanting to throw a ‘healthy’ party, but don’t know where to begin, this guide has everything you need to know! From recipes to healthy product brands, to printable signs, and so much more!

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Planning a Party?

Being a modern pioneer sometimes has me down with the challenge of trying to be careful about what I eat and how often I consume foods that I shouldn’t have on a regular basis. So sometimes I just need to throw a party and enjoy some of the special foods that I splurge with on special occasions.

That being said I also had some GREAT woodland/buffalo plaid party ideas that were float’n around in my head that I really wanted to try. As soon as my creative mind got to work, there was endless possibilities for the party foods that I could make both allergy-friendly and fun! After turning all my ideas into a reality, I knew I couldn’t just share it with my family members.

I had to share the whole idea with you guys!

Being a chef and a photographer, I LOVE baking and creating foods. If planning a party and making it all happen sounds overwhelming to you because of the allergy-friendly food aspect, then I have a few tips for you. I know being in the kitchen all day is not for everyone, but that shouldn’t keep you from hosting a fun party! My goal with this party guide is to provide you with all the resources I used to create a fun, allergy-friendly party food spread!

The Snacks

Let’s start with the snacks! Everyone has their own idea of what they like for a snack, but at a party, it’s always a good idea to have a little bit of everything. Here are some of party snacks that are sweet, salty, and savory!

Sweet & Salty

My go-to sweet and salty snack is pretzels and chocolate. Inspired by Pinterest, I was thrilled to come up with some fun winter party pretzel snack ideas: twigs, tree bark, and birch logs.

• Tree Bark– chocolate bark with pretzels and peanuts
• Twigs– gluten-free Quinn pretzel sticks
• Birch Logs– gluten-free Quinn rye pretzels dipped in gluten-free white chocolate and drizzled with Enjoy Life melted chocolate chips

For the tree bark, I came up with a pretty simple chocolate bark recipe. I used Enjoy Life mini chocolate chips for the chocolate base and then topped the bark with crumbled Quinn pretzel sticks and crushed peanuts. Find the recipe at the bottom of this post.

For the twigs, I used Quinn sea salt pretzel sticks. There are two flavors of Quinn pretzel sticks to choose from, sea salt or honey. I like both flavors!

Lastly, for the birch logs, I used Quinn rye pretzel rods, Chatfields gluten-free white chocolate chips, and Enjoy Life mini chocolate chips. Chatfield’s gluten-free white chocolate chips are kind of interesting to work with. They melt very thick and you have to use a butter knife to spread the white chocolate on to the pretzel rod. However, I love the flavor and have found them to be the best white chocolate chips for making chocolate dipped pretzels with.

Sweet & Savory

For sweet and savory snacks, I chose a couple of favorites. Something chocolate, something gummy, and something savory. The names fit perfectly for these ‘deer droppings’, the ‘penguin food’, and the ‘polar bear food’!

• Deer Droppings– Lily’s dark chocolate covered peanuts
• Penguin Food– Smart Sweets sweet fish
• Polar Bear Food– venison sausage or Epic jerky bites

For the deer droppings I bought some Lily’s dark chocolate covered peanuts. For other allergy-friendly options, Lily’s brand also offers other chocolate-covered items like caramels, almonds, and popcorn. So there are dairy-free, peanut free, nut free, and corn free options!

For the penguin food, I used the only low sugar, healthy gummy fish that I know of: Smart Sweets sweet fish! However, you have to be careful with these. The 1.8 oz. packs of sweet fish are made with different ingredients than the sharing size packs. The sharing size pack of sweet fish is the one that I like the best since it is corn free and has better texture. Whole Foods Market is the only place I have been able to find the sharing size packs of Smart Sweets sweet fish. If you can’t get your hands on some Smart Sweets sweet fish, Wholesome DelishFish are another organic gummy fish option.

Lastly, for the polar bear food, I used some venison sausage that my dad, Anna, and I get every fall. However, any of your favorite snacking sausage will work! Just make sure it is gluten-free and non-GMO. Jerky bites would also work for polar bear food too! My favorite brand of natural jerky are Epic jerky bites. They sell a variety of flavors, all of which are super delicious and allergy-friendly!

Other Snacks

The ‘other snacks’ section are for any other fun snacks that you want to add to your allergy-friendly winter party! Here are a couple of other fun snack ideas that I had for party foods:

• Snow Flurries– gluten-free popcorn
• Snowflakes– grain-free sugar cookies
• Trail Mix- Feridies peanuts, UnReal chocolate gems, organic raisins, organic freeze-dried fruit
• Grizzly Bears– Black Forest organic gummy bears
• Fishing Bait– Black Forest organic gummy worms

Allergy-Friendly Brand Guide for Snacks

• Feridies Salted Peanuts: naturally gluten-free, non-GMO, Kosher
• Quinn pretzels: gluten-free, corn free, cane sugar free, egg free, dairy-free
• Enjoy Life chocolate chips (contains cane sugar): gluten-free, dairy-free, nut free, corn free, soy free
• Chatfield’s gluten-free white chocolate (contains dairy and cane sugar): gluten-free, nut free
• Lily’s dark chocolate chips: sugar free, gluten-free, grain-free, dairy-free, nut free
• Lily’s white chocolate style baking chips (contains dairy): sugar free, gluten-free, grain-free, nut free
• Smart Sweets sweet fish: free from sugar alcohols, gluten-free, corn free, nut free, dairy-free, egg free, naturally sweetened
• Lily’s chocolate covered peanuts (contains dairy): gluten-free, tree nut free, cane sugar free
• Lily’s chocolate covered caramels (contains dairy): gluten-free, tree nut free, cane sugar free
• Wholesome DelishFish (contains cane sugar and corn): gluten-free, nut free, dairy-free, organic, egg free
• Epic jerky bites: paleo, gluten-free, nut free, corn free, naturally sweetened, egg free, dairy-free

The Desserts

Well, we have the snacks taken care of now, but every good party has plenty of dessert options right!? Don’t worry, I have plenty of great, creative ideas for desserts, and all of them are allergy-friendly!

Cupcakes

Cupcakes…. winter party edition! I thoroughly enjoyed coming up with these party themed cupcakes, despite making a somewhat ‘major’ mistake when mixing up the King Arthur cupcake mix! (I made 12 cupcakes out of batter that was supposed to make 24 cupcakes)

• Wildlife Cupcakes- vanilla cupcakes, vanilla frosting, gluten-free animal cookies, chocolate trees
• Polar Bear Paw Cupcakes- vanilla cupcakes, vanilla frosting, chocolate drops, Kinnikinnick kinni-toos chocolate sandwich cookies, shredded coconut

I used King Arthur gluten-free yellow cake mix to make my cupcakes. The yellow cake mix can make 24 cupcakes, but I accidentally made only 12 cupcakes! So, if you want cupcakes with extra large tops that are flat (like what you see in my photos), then you can purposefully make the same mistake that I did! The cupcakes do have to bake longer if you make only 12 instead of the 24 that the recipe instructs.

I chose two cupcakes designs for decorating the cupcakes. It was easy to just divide the cupcakes into two groups of six for each design (or two groups of twelve if you made 24 cupcakes). Both designs require that the cupcakes have a full spread of frosting on them. I use Simple Mills vanilla frosting, which is easy to work with and dairy-free.

Next, I decorated the cupcakes with my two designs:

Wildlife Cupcakes

• Make chocolate trees with Enjoy Life chocolate chips and Quinn pretzel sticks. (See instructions below this post)
• Buy a bag of Glutino animal cookies and sort out the mountain goats, bears, and foxes.
• Place a small sprig of rosemary, a Glutino animal cookie, and a chocolate tree in the center of the cupcake.
• Sprinkle on SuperNatural Christmas sequins and 365 nonpareils sprinkles as a finishing touch!

Polar Bear Paw Cupcakes

• Make oval shape chocolate drops with melted Enjoy Life chocolate chips.
• Sprinkle organic shredded coconut over each cupcake.
• Place a Kinnikinnick kinni-too chocolate sandwich cookie and five oval chocolate drops on the cupcake in the shape of a paw print.

Allergy-Friendly Brand Guide for Cupcakes

• King Arthur gluten-free vanilla cake mix (contains cane sugar and corn starch): gluten-free, dairy-free option, nut free
• Simple Mills vanilla frosting (contains sugar): dairy-free, gluten-free, nut free, egg free
• Glutino original animal cookies (contains cane sugar): gluten-free, nut free, dairy-free, corn free
• SuperNatural Christmas sequins (contains cane sugar): gluten-free, dairy-free, nut free, egg free, palm oil free, no confectioner’s glaze, corn free
• 365 nonpareils sprinkles (contains cane sugar and corn starch): gluten-free, dairy-free, nut free, egg free, palm oil free, no confectioner’s glaze
• Kinnikinnick kinni-too chocolate sandwich cookies (contains cane sugar): gluten-free, nut free, dairy-free, soy free, egg free, corn free

Rice Crispy Treats

Another fun party treat that I like to serve are rice crispy treats. However, my rice crispy treats have a special name. In my family, we call our rice crispy treats moose bars. The recipe for gluten-free moose bars can be found here. To make them winter party edition, read on!

• Reindeer Moose Bars– Enjoy Life chocolate chips, Quinn pretzel twists, Little Secrets peanut butter chocolate pieces, Chatfield’s white chocolate chips
• Christmas Tree Moose Bars- Simple Mills vanilla frosting, SuperNatural Christmas sequins, Little Secrets peanut butter chocolate pieces

To make the moose bar recipe into these fun party shapes, I halved the recipe and made it in an 8×8″ glass pan (instead of a 9×13″ glass pan). Then, before you spread the melted chocolate onto the rice crispy base, score the base. Make score marks that cut the 8×8 square in half, then make zig-zag scores on either half to create triangles. You should be able to get 6 decent triangles on each side, making a total of 12 triangles. Then use toothpicks to mark where the three points of each triangle are for a cutting reference after you spread the chocolate.

After you have spread the chocolate onto the rice crispy base, press the antlers into the respective places on the 6 triangles that will be reindeer (you will be able to tell where the reindeer heads are gauging by the toothpick markers). Let the chocolate harden before adding anything else.

Once the chocolate has hardened, you can cut the moose bars into the triangles that you marked with the toothpicks. Then remove each triangle to put the finishing touches on.

Reindeer Additions

For the reindeer antlers, I sorted through a Quinn twists pretzel bag and chose pieces of pretzel that were broken to use as antlers. The antlers should be added right after you have spread the chocolate on the bars.

The eyes can be peppercorns or Enjoy Life mini chocolate chips. For the red nose, I used the red pieces from a Little Secrets peanut butter chocolate pieces bag. You need about 6 pairs of antlers, 6 pairs of eyes, and 6 red noses.

To add the reindeer eyes and noses, first melt some Chatfield’s white chocolate. Place a dot of white chocolate where the eyes and nose should be on each reindeer triangle. Then you can press the peppercorns/chocolate chips into the white chocolate for eyes and press a red peanut butter chocolate piece onto the tip of the triangle for a red nose.

Christmas Tree Additions

For the Christmas trees, you will need some Simple Mills vanilla frosting, the yellow pieces from a Little Secrets peanut butter chocolate pieces bag, and some SuperNatural Christmas sequins.

Beat the Simple Mills frosting until it is creamy. Snip a small corner off a plastic bag and place some frosting inside the bag. Pipe the frosting out the small hole in the corner onto the trees. Go in a zig-zag pattern to mimic garland. Press the Christmas sequins into the frosting and add a yellow peanut butter chocolate piece at the tip of the triangle for a ‘star’.

Allow everything to firm up.

Allergy-Friendly Brand Guide for Rice Crispy Treats

• Little Secrets peanut butter chocolate pieces (contains dairy and sugar): gluten-free, tree nut free, corn free, egg free

Cake

You may think I’m going a little crazy, but yes, I did serve both cake and cupcakes at my winter party! I had to add a little chocolate to the dessert options, and winter cakes are just so much to make! Here is what I did to create this gluten-free winter chocolate cake.

• Chocolate Winter Cake– chocolate cake mix, Simple Mills, vanilla frosting, chocolate trees, Little Secrets mint chocolate pieces, rosemary sprigs, SuperNatural Christmas sequins, 365 nonpareils sprinkles

I used the King Arthur gluten-free chocolate cake mix to make this cake. The King Arthur chocolate cake mix is super moist, super easy to make, and super delicious! Once the cake was cool, I slice the domed top off of each 9″ cake round. Place the two domes on top of each other and set them aside. Then I took one container of Simple Mills vanilla frosting and beat it until it was creamy.

Place one cake round on the surface that you want to cake to be on. Spread some vanilla frosting onto the cake round, liberally frosting the edges. Place the other cake round on top of the frosting and repeat the frosting method. Lastly, place the two stacked cake domes on top and finish frosting the cake. Thinly frost the sides of the cake to get the ‘dirty’ look.

Now you can decorate! Use the chocolate tree, rosemary sprigs, chocolate mint pieces, sprinkles, and a winter animal figurine of your choice to finish decorating the cake!

Also, if you are looking for a grain-free cake recipe to use, make sure you check out this grain-free winter cake recipe!

Hot Cocoa Bar

You’ve got snacks and you’ve got dessert, but what about beverages? Nothing could be more appropriate to serve at a winter party than hot cocoa! A hot cocoa bar was the perfect pairing for this winter party!

Now I didn’t go crazy with my hot cocoa bar because I like a pretty simple cup of cocoa. However, there are lots of allergy-friendly hot cocoa toppings to choose from! But first, the hot cocoa base. You can easily make up your own allergy-friendly hot cocoa mix by checking out these recipes!

As for the rest of the items at the hot cocoa bar, consider these treats:

• Wholesome candy canes (contain cane sugar): gluten-free, dairy-free, nut free, corn free, egg free, grain-free
• Dandies mini marshmallows (contain cane sugar): gluten-free, grain-free, egg free, dairy-free, corn free
• Dandies marshmallows: gluten-free, grain-free, egg free, dairy-free, corn free
• Enjoy Life chocolate chips
• Chatfield’s white chocolate chips
• SoDelicious Cocowhip (contains cane sugar): gluten-free, grain-free, dairy-free, tree nut free, egg free, corn free
• Homemade caramel: gluten-free, tree nut free, corn free, grain-free, egg free
• Enjoy Life mini chocolate chip cookies
• Pamela’s graham crackers (contains dairy and brown sugar): gluten-free, nut free, corn free, egg free
• Kinnikinnick graham crackers (contains brown sugar): gluten-free, nut free, egg free, corn free, dairy-free

Planning Guide

Now that there are so many great ideas to do for a winter party, how do you plan to accomplish all that and still have an enjoyable party?! Don’t worry, I’ve got you covered on that aspect too! It does take some shopping, preparation, kitchen time, and food prep, but if you have a plan you should be able to spread it out over a couple of days like I did when prepping for my winter party. Here are the plans that I followed when preparing for my winter party!

Shopping List & Plan

I recommend to start shopping for your party supplies at least 1 month in advance. That way you don’t have to buy everything all at once. It also gives you time to order things online or go to different stores to purchase items. Create a spot in your kitchen, pantry, a spare cupboard, or closet to store your party supplies. If you have all your party supplies in one location, you will be less likely to use them up before it’s time to prep for the party!

As for the shopping list, I’ve got you covered with this printable shopping list! It includes all the items I bought for my party foods. Feel free to make notes about substitutions or additions though!

Winter Party Printable Shopping List

Also, see the resource guide at the end of this post for where to find certain ingredients and supplies!

Preparation Plan

Here is a timetable for how I prepared to host my winter party:

• 1 Month Prior– start shopping and storing supplies!
• 1 Week Prior– make the DIY décor items and gather your other décor items
• 3 Days Prior– make the rice crispy triangles
• 2 Days Prior– finish the rice crispy treats, make the chocolate bark, white chocolate dipped pretzels, and chocolate trees, bake the chocolate cake rounds
• Day Before– assemble and decorate the chocolate cake, make the cupcakes and decorate them
• Day Of– set up the décor items, arrange all the snack items, finish prepping last minute food items (e.g. pop popcorn, slice sausage)

The first party food that I made were the rice crispy treats, but I didn’t add reindeer eyes, noses, or tree decorations until the next day. That way I could melt one batch of white chocolate and make the chocolate dipped pretzels and finish the reindeer at the same time. I could also melt one batch of Enjoy Life mini chocolate chips and finish the chocolate dipped pretzels, make the chocolate trees, and make the chocolate bark all at the same time too. Don’t forget, you can make the polar bear claws (oval chocolate pieces) at this time too.

DIY Décor

I had so much fun creating the decor pieces for my winter party! Some of the items I made from scratch, other items are things that I found around the house and kitchen. Your decor items and serving dishes may look a little different than mine, but here are a few ideas to get you started:

• DIY brown paper bags– I used these for the sweet & salty snacks
• Small white ramekins– I used these for the sweet and savory snacks
• Glass mason jars– I used these for the hot cocoa bar
• Wooden crates (large and small)– I used a small wooden crate for the hot cocoa bar and a large wooden create as part of the cupcake and rice crispy treat display
• Large wood slices- I made a cupcake stand out of two large wood slices for the cupcakes and rice crispy treats
• Fake trees– I used fake decorative trees to add a rustic, woodsy feel to the food display
• Wood stump– I used a round wood stump as a cake stand for the winter cake
• Glass flip top jars– I used a large flip top jar for the popcorn I served
• Rustic wood frame- I used a 5×7″ wood frame for the hot cocoa bar sign

As for the buffalo plaid signs, you may be wondering how to get your hands on these. Well you are in luck! They are for sale in the Trading Post right now! You can buy these signs, print them off at home, and use them for your winter party! Super easy and simple!

Party Time!

I hope this allergy-friendly winter party food plan & recipes guide makes you want to throw a healthy and fun party! There are so many fun and creative options that you can do while still having dietary restrictions! Yes, I know it will probably be a splurge moment, but that’s a characteristic of a good party. From creating the pretzel snacks to decorating the cake and cupcakes, I hope prepping these fun foods is enjoyable and relaxing for you, just like it was for me! Let me know how your winter party goes or what foods you decided to serve!

Also, don’t forget to join our weekly modern pioneer newsletter community! Partying may be fun, but we also have practical tips for living a sustainable lifestyle, eating well with dietary restrictions, and having fun while being a modern pioneer!

by Alexa Lehr

Resource Guide

• Thrive Market– Quinn pretzels, Enjoy Life chocolate chips, King Arthur yellow cake mix, Simple Mills frosting, Dandies marshmallows, Epic jerky bites
• Whole Foods Market– Quinn pretzels, 365 nonpareils sprinkles, Epic jerky bites, Little Secrets chocolate pieces, Lily’s chocolate covered peanuts, Simple Mils frosting, King Arthur gluten-free mixes, Dandies marshmallows, Smart Sweets sweet fish sharing size
• Amazon– Quinn pretzels, Epic jerky bites, Little Secrets chocolate pieces, Lily’s chocolate covered peanuts, Simple Mills frosting, King Arthur gluten-free mixes, Dandies marshmallows, SuperNatural sprinkles, Glutino animal cookies, Kinnikinnick products, Feridies peanuts, Chatfield’s white chocolate chips
• Meijer– Glutino animal cookies, Kinnikinnick products, Enjoy Life chocolate chips, Chatfield’s gluten-free white chocolate chips, King Arthur gluten-free mixes, Simple Mills frosting, Epic jerky bites
• Walmart– Quinn pretzels, Epic jerky bites, Little Secrets chocolate pieces, Lily’s chocolate covered peanuts, Simple Mills frosting, King Arthur gluten-free mixes, Dandies marshmallows, Glutino animal cookies, Kinnikinnick products
• Target– King Arthur gluten-free mixes, Simple Mills frosting
• Trading Post– buffalo plaid party signs

Recipe Tips

• Simple Mills vanilla frosting should be room temperature and beaten well before using.
• Chatfield’s white chocolate chips need to be heated slowly over low heat in order for them to melt. You will have to spread the melted chocolate because it won’t drizzle or pour.
• Place circles of parchment paper on the bottoms’ of your 9″ cake pans to make removing the cake rounds easier once they are baked.
• Chill the chocolate dipped pretzels, chocolate bark, chocolate trees, and polar bear oval chocolate pieces in the freezer to get them to harden faster.

Recipes