How to survive Holiday Dinners with Food Allergies

If you are like me, you may begin to dread when holiday’s come around every year. It can become very stressful when trying to create a dinner that is allergen free and if you have to go to a relative’s house for the dinner (like me) it can be even worse. This is the 1st holiday that my daughter has had her Milk and Egg allergy that we have known about. I have been trying to convince family that we want to have a dinner at our home because it is very hard to allow her to eat the food someone else made without knowing for sure what it was made with. At this point, I have had no luck in doing this. I have come up with some ideas on how to keep yourself or your child with the allergies safe this coming Easter even if they have to go to someone else’s home.

1. If possible, hold the holiday dinners at your house.

If your family would agree to it, hold the dinner at your home so that you are sure that there are no allergens present in the food. This may be more of a hassle having to cook for a group of people but it’s better than having to take your child to the emergency room with an allergic reaction.

If you can’t have the dinners at your home then:

1. Make sure whoever is preparing dinner is very aware and knowledgable about the food allergy.

As a parent to kids with allergies, I make sure that everyone in my family knows exactly what my children are able to eat and not eat. I probably drive my family crazy over it but I want to keep my kids safe. I make lists of food ingredients that are NOT OK and I make family read all labels on food before giving it to my children. For this Easter, I have even gone as far as going to the relatives home and reading the labels with them to make sure that every ingredient they were baking with was safe for my kids.

2. Take a “special” dessert for kids with allergies.

I have found that with my children’s allergies the hardest part of the dinner is the dessert. Most desserts either contain tree nuts, milk, or eggs. I have made it a habit to make my own dessert for the kids at home and take them to any holiday get togethers. This way my kids can have a dessert like everyone else and I do not have to worry about the food allergies. This is a good thing to do anytime you go to a birthday party or any kind of event because more often than not food allergens are present in the desserts.

3. Be sure to take any allergy medication required.

If you child requires an epi-pen or benedryl for an allergic reaction to a food, make sure that you take that with you to any holiday dinners. You never know if by accident something was cross contaminated or your child could come in contact with a food allergen somehow. You are going to want to have their medication nearby for safety (especially if you are traveling out of town).

Be Sociable, Share!