I believe the Holy Grail of Food Allergies is a cure. However, I think the next two runners-up are awareness and inclusion. We had a food allergy inclusion birthday party experience that was nothing short of SUPER.

Birthdays can be tough when dealing with a food allergy. Some food allergies are harder than others. Fish and shellfish are almost never in cake (thankfully!) Peanuts and tree-nuts are also pretty easy to avoid, (although bakery cakes often have cross contact warnings with nuts.) However, eggs, dairy, wheat, and soy are in most baked goods. It’s almost impossible to get a store-bought cake without those ingredients. Even homemade cakes will have these unless the baker specifically omits them.

Our youngest son, Kal has a peanut allergy. When he was invited to his best friend’s birthday party, his mom checked with us to make sure that the cake would be safe, it was. That in itself is reason for celebrating. It’s something all parents wish would happen when their food-allergic child goes to a birthday party.

Now, our oldest son Zax is allergic to peanuts and eggs. We have our usual routine of sending a safe cupcake with him. We try to make it fun by adding sugar eyes or something so he doesn’t feel too left out. (Need an amazing food allergy friendly chocolate cake recipe? We’ve got that here!) In fact, there have been times when the other kids wanted the cupcake instead of the birthday cake! (Good job Mom!)

What does a Food Allergy Inclusion Birthday Party look like? After school, our kids get together with their friends at a nearby park. So Zax, Kal, and his BF would spend a lot of time together. When the invitation to the birthday party arrived, Zax was invited too. We were ready to go with our standby cupcake, however, BF’s mom asked about Zax’s allergy as well. She said she would provide something safe for him.

My jaw dropped. This was above and beyond what I would have ever expected. It’s not even for the friend of the birthday boy, but his older brother. This level of compassion almost brought me to tears.

On to the food allergy inclusive birthday party!

It took place at a nearby recreation center in their gymnastics room. The room as you can see was amazing! The only bad part about it was parents were not allowed on the floor to play. : ( Really? We got to move in close if our boys needed help or to get a close up photo, but there was no jumping around. Although the floor was a little bouncy so there’s that, I guess.)

The kids had a great time as the parents talked and looked on longingly. After the time was up in the gymnastics room it was time to move to the party room.

They brought out the cake and then gave Zax his own personal food-allergy-safe-for-him cupcake. It was like a Hostess Cupcake with a cream-filled center. If you’re interested, it’s called Big Mo by Better Bites Bakery. It really was an amazing sight to see (and taste). I can’t thank BF’s mom enough for doing this!

It just goes to show you that food allergy awareness is spreading and there are compassionate people out there that not only get it but act on it in such a positive way. Don’t give up hope and yes, you can have a Food Allergy Inclusion Birthday Party! What is your best food allergy inclusion experience?