Skip to Content

This post may contain affiliate links and is a member of the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. Read the full disclosure

50 Easy Birthday Snacks For School (That Aren’t Cupcakes)

Posted on Last updated:

Celebrating a birthday at school is often a highlight for kids, getting to share their special milestone with their classmates. If you want to skip the birthday cupcakes this year, you will love these other delicious and simple ideas for birthday snacks for school.

These school birthday treats include healthy snack ideas, no-prep treats and sugar-free options for celebrating birthdays in the classroom.

Child excited at a birthday party for kids

The BEST Birthday Snacks For School Celebrations

There can be a lot of pressure come birthday time when you have kids in school.

Not only do you have a birthday cake to prepare for the big day and potentially a birthday party to plan (which may mean more cake), but there’s also the class celebration to consider.

While you could just skip it, since we are all about simplifying our lives, knowing how much joy it brings to our kids, there are other ways to keep it simple.

I’ve done the birthday cupcakes thing a few times and it’s stressful!

Sometimes the icing rolls off. Sometimes they slide around on the drive to school and stick together.

Or you get the cupcake carry container back that afternoon wondering why the icing is all at the top. Did someone tip the whole thing upside down? (It has happened).

So instead of losing sleep over that extra task, there are plenty more birthday snack ideas you can send to school with the birthday child instead!

And they are a lot cheaper than paying for fancy cupcakes instead of baking them!

Need ‘bring a plate’ party food ideas? Check out more than 70 share plates and pot luck ideas for your next event!

Tips For Choosing School Birthday Snacks

Choosing school birthday snacks isn’t as simple as it once was. Many schools have policies these days to ensure safety around food and contact in the classroom.

Some schools have eliminated birthday snacks entirely, or at least limited the options.

Single-serve birthday treats are the most common option and while cupcakes have long been a popular choice, there are plenty of other options instead.

Class birthday treat ideas for school

Firstly, know your school’s policy around birthday food before you bring something in.

The last thing you want is a disappointed child when they can’t share their treats with their class friends.

Always find out how many kids are in the class and if there are any dietary restrictions you need to consider.

For this reason, it always helps to touch base with your child’s teacher before the birthday just to make sure.

If possible, the best option is a treat that each child in the class can enjoy, so if there is a child who has gluten or dairy allergies, aim for an alternative they can enjoy too so that child doesn’t need to miss out or feel left out by having a different treat.

Nut-free birthday snacks are also recommended to eliminate issues with anyone with medical conditions around nut allergies.

Alright… let’s plan some simple birthday treats!

RELATED READING: Check out these birthday party snack ideas too

Healthy Birthday Snacks For School

If you want to skip the sugar-loaded birthday treats, there are plenty of healthy snacks you can bring instead.

Depending on your child’s school, you could put together a fresh fruit platter to share.

Although, in most cases, schools prefer single serve items that don’t require sharing.

There is no reason your healthy birthday snack ideas for school can’t be just as fun as a platter of cupcakes either!

There are some delicious healthy treats that kids love and they are sure to be a big hit with the whole class. Including the teacher who doesn’t have to deal with the post-birthday sugar high that comes from cake!

Healthy fruit snack ideas: Cut up fresh fruit such as melons using cookie cutters and add to single-serve containers for a fun healthy snack idea. Or use ice cream cones and add chopped fruit to the cones for a fun healthy alternative to an ice-cream cone.

Fruit kabobs on a plate

Here are some fun healthy birthday treat ideas:

  • Fresh fruit – Depending on the rules around sharing food in your child’s classroom, this can either be a platter to share or you can use disposable cups to make each child their own personal fruit cup.
  • Fruit kabobs – For an even more exciting twist on a fresh fruit snack, make individual fruit kabobs for each child.
  • Dried fruits – In individual packs or bags
  • Veggie chips – Homemade vegetable chips or individual store-purchased packs
  • Popcorn – Go with lightly salted or natural popcorn for a healthy no-butter option.
  • Yogurt pouches – These will need to be refrigerated until they are given out to the class.

If you are feeling creative, why not put together your own butterfly snack bag such as these ones, with a mix of fruit such as grapes or berries and popcorn, dried fruits and animal crackers, sealed in plastic bags with a cheese stick.

Cheese stick butterfly snacks for kids

Pre-Packaged School Birthday Treats

Save yourself a load of time by skipping the home baking session with these no-bake birthday snack ideas.

These prepackaged school birthday treats can be purchased from your local supermarket for an easy celebration food idea that doesn’t require any cooking on your part.

Best of all, many store-brought birthday treats for school are also individually wrapped, which is safer for distribution and often a requirement in the classroom these days.

A few of these include sugary snacks, however you can get sugar-free alternatives to most junk food snacks.

Large lollipops in a bowl

Here are some great options for pre-packaged school birthday treats:

  • Ice blocks – Freeze them for at least 24 hours before and organise with your child’s teacher to have a freezer to keep them at school or to drop them in towards the end of the day so they don’t melt.
  • Chips – A multi-pack of mini chip packets are always popular with kids.
  • Popcorn – Mini packets of popcorn.
  • Lollipops – Bags of individual lollipops are an easy go-to for our summer-born daughter.
  • Gummi snacks – You can get healthier, fruit-based alternatives to gummi lollies in small packets.
  • Museli bars – Get a variety of flavours to suit different tastes, with fruit, choc chip or yogurt bars but make sure they are nut-free if your school has a policy.
  • Candy bracelets – These are a fun treat kids can wear and nibble on.
  • Lollies – A bag of individually wrapped lollies to share between the kids.
  • Cheese & Crackers – Get a box of individually packaged cheese and crackers.
  • Cheese sticks – Use stickers or paper to add cute faces and outfits to them.
  • Jelly Cups – You can get small snack-sized individual jelly cups.
  • Pudding Cups – A sweet treat in an individual tub.

For store-bought birthday treats for school that aren’t individually wrapped, here are a few easy options to pick up at the store and take to school:

  • Doughnuts – A box of Krispy Kreme or a supermarket box of iced or cinnamon doughnuts.
  • Cookies
  • Store-made cupcakes
  • Muffins
  • Pretzels

Homemade Birthday Treats You Can Make

If you still want to make a homemade birthday treat and are able to do so with your school’s birthday food policies, there are plenty of delicious homemade birthday snack ideas that aren’t cupcakes.

Don’t stress over icing that is too runny or burnt cupcakes when you can make something easier and equally yummy!

Some of the recipes below aren’t quite so healthy and may not be classroom suitable. For the muffins, you can easily skip the sugar to make them healthier though.

Here are some recipes and ideas for homemade birthday treats to take to school:

White chocolate crackles

Check out these school lunch recipe ideas, healthy muffins for kids and lunch box fillers for kids.

Non-Food Birthday Treats For School

If you want to keep things even easier and avoid the school birthday snacks entirely, why not consider a non-food birthday treat for school instead?

There are so many options for cute gifts to give the class as a way of celebrating your child’s birthday with them in the classroom.

The best thing about non food items for birthdays means no worrying about food spoiling or about special dietary requirements and food allergies.

It doesn’t matter if it’s pouring rain or sweltering heat because your non-food gifts won’t spoil!

You can choose something the class can enjoy together or choose a small gift for each child to take home to enjoy instead. While it’s usually the birthday kid who gets the gifts, this is a special way of sharing kindness around instead.

Some of these non-food party bag alternatives would also be great options for school class gifts.

If giving out gifts, make sure to organise this with your child’s teacher just as you would with food birthday treats so they can arrange distribution at the best time of day, such as just before the afternoon bell to avoid distracted kids during class.

Here are some fun ideas for non-food birthday treats for classmates:

Other Classroom Celebrations & Ideas

Instead of giving gifts, you can also plan with the teacher for a full class activity, such as gifting the class a special book to read together on your child’s birthday or asking for permission to allow the kids a free time activity, such as watching a fun television program or playing a game.

You could even provide the materials for a special craft project or science experiment the class can do with their teacher (and possibly you as the special helper) to celebrate your child’s milestone date.

You might also like these gift ideas for teachers and gift ideas for school kids.

With all these ideas, you will have plenty of birthday snacks for school and non-food birthday treat ideas that aren’t cupcakes, to help with your child’s next birthday celebrations with their classmates. They work great for daycare birthday treats too! Keep it simple!

Need lunch ideas for kids at home? These ideas are perfect for school break or during the weekends! And don’t forget the snacks!

I hope these school birthday treat ideas give you some great new ideas!

If you need more birthday planning ideas:

Pin For Later

Easy birthday snacks for school