Popsicles

• The most delicious and healthy popsicles are the ones that are homemade. Make popsicles to serve at a birthday party from a variety of pure fruit juices. Combine two or more juices for an innovative flavor.
  
  Make a smoothie popsicle. Blend vanilla yogurt, bananas, frozen fruit and canned pineapple in a blender until smooth. Pour the blended smoothie into popsicle molds and freeze them just like a fruit juice popsicle. Don't forget popsicle sticks for handles if your molds don't come with an alternative.
  
  

Yogurt Sundaes

• Serve vanilla yogurt in sundae cups. Top the yogurt with fresh blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, peaches, strawberries or bananas. Sprinkle low-fat granola over the top of the fruit for a crunchy, fruity yogurt sundae.
  
  

Fruit Kabobs

• Serve fruit kabobs to older children for a fun treat, or let them help make the kabobs themselves. Cut fresh fruit into bite-size chunks and place them into bowls for each child. Fill a small bowl with vanilla yogurt and another small bowl with granola for each child. Pass out a bamboo skewer to each child and invite them to dip their fruit in the yogurt to coat it, then in the granola, and then to place it onto the skewer. They can fill the skewers with special fruit chunks and then have fun eating them.
  
  

Toys

• Break the tradition that ties food to celebration. Instead of focusing on food at a birthday gathering, focus on fun. Provide special toys, trinkets and prizes for each child. Some suggestions for exciting toys are playing cards, stuffed animals, coloring books and crayons, stickers and sticker books, reading books, notebooks and gel pens, hair bows, balls, cars, dolls, puzzles, puzzle books and toy musical instruments.
  
  

Sugar-free Cupcakes

• Make cupcakes with honey or maple syrup instead of processed sugar. A basic cupcake recipe with honey includes 1 cup honey, 1 1/2 cups applesauce, 1/2 cup butter, 2 eggs, 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1 cup raisins and 3 cups whole wheat flour. Mix the dry ingredients together and the wet ingredients together, and then combine everything. Mix well and bake the cupcakes in a muffin tin at 350 degrees for 10 to 15 minutes. After the cupcakes cool, frost them with a homemade whipped cream frosting (sweeten the whipped cream with maple syrup instead of sugar while you are whipping it).