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Thank you so much for all of the wonderful advise and insights into the
question of how a Celiac child should navigate the myriad of Bar and
Bat Mitzvah parties.

About 20 people responded. Here are the over-riding ideas:

Everyone said that the kids food offered was almost always mini
pizzas, chicken nuggets, fries, pasta, hamburgers and hot dogs. The
adult food was recommended as being more GF friendly. The Oneg
Shabbat meals are mostly not GF except for the veggies, fruits,
cheese chunks and lox. Gefilte fish is made with matzah meal and
most people dip their pita bread in the Hummus.

Most suggested asking the host, who will undoubtably be busy with
plans, if it would be OK to speak to the caterer and take the
responsibility for safe food selection off of their shoulders. One
respondee said that she would write her request for caterer
information on the back of the RSVP card and ask the host to call her.
Many would insist on speaking to the caterer to be sure that
they "got-it".

Put together a form letter briefly explaining the limitations, forbidden
foods and suggestions for safe foods that will work.

Be sure to make your child feel as "normal" and a part of the crowd as
possible. Go with a safe variation of what the other kids are having
when possible. Or a plain chicken breast, salad and a baked potato
were mentioned. One child took a small packet of salad dressing in
her purse. Other survival items included an energy bar, rice cakes or
crackers, bread sticks however, be aware of the places you need to
observe Kashrut.

Be sure to feed your child a full meal before the events, as there will
most likely be hours before food is served either after services or at an
evening affair.

It was also noted that many of the kids are too absorbed in the
dancing and fun to be bothered with eating.

For cakes Mr. Ritt's blanks and Just Add Candles, LLC, Heather
Skigen (703) 281-6893 [log in to unmask] were recommended.

One person mentioned that many passover foods are GF.

Giving a copy of a dining card, or distributing a list of menu requests to
all of the local caterers was also mentioned.

One problem to watch for is that the caterer or server and your child
connect at the event and that your child is not left with nothing to eat
and not knowing who to ask for their meal. One idea is to speak to
them upon dropping off your child at the event or you could ask for a
designated server who will be sure to take care of it.

I think I got all of it down!
Thanks again, for being such a great, warm group of people!
Cathy

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