I’m cheap. Yes, I said it. I don’t like to spend a lot of money on anything. Lol. However I like having a good time and I love when my kids are active and doing something creative and productive. So when we decided on a family night with my kids, my aunt and our little cousins I wanted something on our menu that was easy and kid friendly. I instantly thought of a pizza bar! It’s been done a million times on Pinterest so I figured we could put our spin on it.
Easy, cheap, & fun
You don’t need much to throw a pizza bar party. I even picked up some of our items from Dollar Tree! Depending on your group you can get real jazzy with ingredients or keep it really basic, the power is in your hands. I will suggest putting wax paper down when making the pizzas for easy clean up and that can be bought from Dollar Tree! Also get paper plates so you don’t have too many dishes to wash. Lol. We are a paper plate family over here because I hate washing dishes. Please don’t judge. When the kids are creating their masterpiece I just slowly guide them and remind them of key ingredients like putting the sauce down first and then cheese and then whatever else they want to add on. I also let them know that the more they add the longer it takes to cook so instead of packing on too much on one mini pizza just make two! The key element to this process is letting them explore and have a good time creating something that’s theirs. They hear “No” all the time so it feels good to allow them to do their own thing for a little without interfering with their process.As a plus the pizza bar helps helps introduce new vegetables to the kids and sometimes even fruit. We had spinach, onions and bell peppers as our vegetable options next time I’ll add pineapples, mushroom and olives to the list and see if the kids take a chance and try any of them.
Store run and preparation
Head to the store with a pizza buffet in your mind. Think of all the different types of pizza you can get and enjoy and that will help you on your shopping list. If family members have allergies keep that in mind and find substitutes. I have a vegetarian uncle so I know he would love a veggie packed pizza. So in his case I would get more veggies like mushrooms, tomatoes, and green onions.
I purchased mozzarella cheese, pizza sauce, mini and large pizza crusts, bagels, baby spinach, pepperoni, onions, bell peppers and Parmesan cheese. Next pizza bar adventure I will add more of an variety of ingredients.
Lay the wax paper down so it won’t be too much of a mess. Have your ingredients in bowls so everyone can grab what they want to add to their pizzas. From the crust you can get fancy and make your own dough, you could get the premise refrigerated dough, bagels, or already done pizza crusts that come in full size and minis. Get more than enough just in case there is a mess up or someone wants to make more than one. Pop them in the oven at 350 and take the pizzas out once the cheese browns.
Most importantly have fun!
Enjoy creating memories with your family and friends and have fun tasting different pizza combinations and you could even do a taste test. There are so many different varieties you can come up with. Even a dessert pizza bar. Have fun and enjoy!
What’s your favorite pizza topping? I would love to know!
Awesome! Great Idea I’m going to try this with my kids we love pizza
It was so much fun and inexpensive so definitely try it out.