The Ultimate Nostalgic Birthday: Kids' Party Food For Grown-Ups

We all remember the excitement of birthday parties as a kid: the candles on the cake, the party games, the magic tricks, the party favors, and, of course, the tasty food. As we grow up, the classic children's party foods are forgotten, and birthdays come to center more around Champagne and a sophisticated dinner shared with friends.

Chicken nuggets and ketchup were a well-loved kids' birthday party treat. Upgrade them to a more socially acceptable finger food by making and serving your own baked breaded chicken fingers, obviously with a generous portion of your favorite condiment on the side.

For the Breaded Chicken Fingers recipe, click here.

No children's birthday party was ever chocolate-free. Swap the candy bars, white chocolate cookies, and milk chocolate brownies for a batch of these intense, gooey, dark chocolate, frosted brownies, which have been spiked with whiskey, Guinness, and Baileys.

For the Maia Yogurt Irish Brownies recipe, click here.

Just because you're a grown-up doesn't mean you should miss out on a birthday cake. But your birthday cake probably shouldn't still come from a box mix and be covered with sprinkles. This elegant raspberry and Champagne layer cake is perfect for a sophisticated birthday celebration.

For the Raspberry and Champagne Layer Cake recipe, click here.

Jello and ice cream is a dessert that is never seen outside of kids' birthday parties. Since it seems a little sad to abandon this treat forever as soon as we're over the age of 10, we think it's time to reincorporate it into our parties, but with a Champagne twist, just because we can.

For the Pink Champagne Jello recipe, click here.

Cold, soggy slices of pizza are a key part of every child's birthday party. Why the pizza was always so sad looking we're not sure, but birthday parties are the perfect excuse to treat yourself to a slice or two. This rich chanterelle mushroom and leek pizza will be as pleasing to your taste buds as the cold, cheese-covered slice was all those years ago.

For the Chanterelle Mushroom and Leek Pizza recipe, click here.

Slurping on a sweet, ice cream birthday shake is sure to bring back happy memories of birthdays past. Add a splash of bourbon, replace the chocolate ice cream with coffee ice cream, and decorate with salted pretzels, for a perfectly adult, but still satisfyingly nostalgic milkshake.

For the Crunch Cassidy Milkshake recipe, click here.

Food on a stick has always been a birthday party staple. Rather than just eating strawberries and melon off the stick, this year, take it a step further and put the fruit on a barbecue, coated in a spicy maple-cumin glaze.

For the Grilled Fruit Skewers recipe, click here.

Just because we've grown up doesn't mean we've fallen out of love with fish fingers. This homemade version of the frozen childhood favorite will be the best reminder of all those mayonnaise-covered fish fingers you used to devour many moons ago.

For the Homemade Fish Fingers recipe, click here.

One of the benefits of being a grown-up is being allowed to make your own eating choices. Make the most of this right to decision-making by swapping the vanilla ice cream that birthday party parents would serve you when you were little, for an indulgent ice cream bar filled with multiple sweet, sugary options for you to pile as high as you can.

For a guide to creating the Ultimate Ice Cream Bar, click here.

Mac and cheese typically constituted the main part of kids' birthday party meal. We wouldn't want to miss out on such a key component of our childhood celebrations, so this upgraded lobster mac and cheese is sure to bring back happy memories, while also being a big step up from the packaged stuff we loved in our earlier years.

For the Lobster Mac and Cheese recipe, click here.

Mini sausages served on sticks are another item rarely seen outside of kids' birthday parties. It turns out they're not quite as exciting to grown-ups as they are to the children who are desperate to eat anything miniature. Doused in a spicy ginger mustard glaze, however, and these sausages are the perfect accompaniment to your party drinks.

For the Mustard and Ginger Cocktail Sausages recipe, click here.

A refreshing glass of pink lemonade was always such a special birthday treat. Make it even more special, and definitely only for the grown-ups, with this wonderfully nostalgic spiked pink lemonade.

For the Spiked Pink Lemonade recipe, click here.

If you are blessed with a summer birthday, it's likely that ice pops have always been a regular feature at your parties. These refreshing boozy watermelon pops are the ideal age-appropriate, but nostalgic party treat.

For the Watermelon Patch Boozy Pops recipe, click here.