Whether you're celebrating the book or the movie, a Wizard of Oz-themed party delights both children and grown-ups. Choosing food to match the theme takes some creativity, but with some forward planning you'll find plenty of sweet and savory options for your food table.
Emerald City Treats
Anything colored a deep green can be considered part of an Emerald City food display. Frosted cupcakes and sugar cookies are two options. Another is a molded green gelatin salad, perhaps decorated with kiwi slices and/or green grapes.
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For savory dishes, you have a variety of green vegetables ready to be turned into Emerald City dishes. Start with a simple relish tray full of celery stalks; cucumber slices or spears; plus lightly steamed asparagus stalks, snap pea pods and broccoli florets. Serve with a Green Goddess-style dressing or a spinach dip. You can also offer a bowl of guacamole; if you can find green tortilla chips to accompany them, so much the better. For a more substantial savory dish, serve a spinach pasta salad with pesto.
The Yellow Brick Road
Create a Yellow Brick Road food display with stacks of crispy rice treats tinted yellow with food coloring. If you prefer a savory option, cut orange cheddar into rectangular slices and line them up in a brick pattern on a platter, or even atop plastic wrap laid out on your treat table. Provide bread, crackers or pretzels along the side, plus rolls of sliced deli meats.
Over the Rainbow
The rainbow divides Oz from the rest of the world, and thus is a central symbol to lean on for your Oz-themed party treats. Make a rainbow-hued layer cake or layered rainbow cupcakes for your dessert offering. Arrange sliced fruit in rainbow patterns in a glass bowl or on a platter. Vegetables, too, can be presented in a rainbow-hued arrangement.
Even More Ideas
Offer a bowl of animal crackers to represent "lions and tigers and bears." Or use zoo animal cookie cutters to form sandwiches in the shape of these jungle animals. You can also use a heart-shaped cutter to make sandwiches in the shape of the Tin Man's heart.
In the 1939 movie version of The Wizard of Oz, the Munchkins' Lollipop Guild gets to sing a verse of welcome to Dorothy when she arrives in their land. Use purchased lollipops to garnish your dessert spread -- rainbow swirl lollies are particularly appropriate here, but just about any variety that takes your fancy can be used.