Do I need to provide a gluten free option?

[CakeBeret]

I do think that if you know of this sort of thing, you *do* have a responsibility to offer hospitality to your guests. What sort of hospitality are you offering to your mom? None. And she's your MOM.

So when this sort of thing is known, yes, I think etiquette says you need to offer them food that, medically speaking, they can eat. Ethically as well.

I can't imagine you'd think it was okay to have a vegan over to dinner and serve baked beans w/ bacon, mashed potatoes w/ butter and cream, string beans w/ bacon, corn w/ butter, sauteed carrots with butter, salad with anchovies, and lamb. Oh, and break w/ sausage bits in it.

I am offering her hospitality. In my OP I mentioned veggies and dip, plus of course there will be a variety of drinks. I realize it's not a lot--but it's two hours max, in the middle of the day, not even close to a mealtime. I don't think that's comparable to your dinner party analogy. And based on advice from other posters I'm also going to offer crackers and cheese, and either fruit salad or ice cream.

[Outdoor Girl]

I think there is a big difference between ordering pizza mid-afternoon for a birthday party and inviting people over for dinner.  In the case of the pizza party, as long as the OP provides food that her Mom can eat, I think she's in the clear.

In the case of a dinner party where you are specifically planning a menu, then you need to take into account the requirements of the guests.  So if I was inviting Mom for a dinner party, I would plan a (mostly) GF meal.

[NyaChan]

I get that it isn't a typical meal time that you are serving this food - but you are still serving a meal.  If I were attending, I would  think the pizza was a late lunch.  So mom would basically have snacks while everyone else is eating the equivalent of a meal.

[Oh Joy]

I think it would be gracious to provide a food option.  Perhaps she eats the small GF frozen pizzas that are available in most of our (midwest USA) grocery stores?  A few dollars and a quick bake while you're waiting for the others to be delivered.  If you went out of your way to provide that, I think you could skip a GF dessert (or just add ice cream as others have mentioned).

Best wishes.

[ShadowLady]

I know some people turn their noses up at it, but a fruit option could be canned fruit.  Fruit cocktail, or a can or two of canned peach slices, or mandarin orange slices, or a jello cup with fruit in it.   

And then right now Kraft is putting out 3 flavors of chocolate cream cheeses, milk, dark, and white.  Mmmmmmm.

Speaking of cream cheese, there is the salmon cream cheese to go with crackers and veggies (I find it yummy in celery).

[TootsNYC]

Are you going to be able to get gluten-free crackers?

Because adding crackers and cheese to the menu won't help your mom much.

I would not want to serve a meal to some of my guests and not to others. Not when I *know* about the issue.

[CuriousParty]

Do you have a Pizza Uno's near you and/or would you consider using them?  They have an entire GF menu, including pizza options (individual sizes) that might make your life easier if that's a possibility.

When my GF sister comes to my house for parties I do like to provide her with some GF options (e.g., cupcakes) that are similar to the party food, so she doesn't feel so singled out.  I find Trader Joe's and Whole Foods to be useful sources for these.

[CakeBeret]

Do you have a Pizza Uno's near you and/or would you consider using them?  They have an entire GF menu, including pizza options (individual sizes) that might make your life easier if that's a possibility.

When my GF sister comes to my house for parties I do like to provide her with some GF options (e.g., cupcakes) that are similar to the party food, so she doesn't feel so singled out.  I find Trader Joe's and Whole Foods to be useful sources for these.

We have...none of those options around here. We do have a GF section at the grocery store, but Mom has tried most of their offerings and says they're pretty terrible.

[CuriousParty]

Do you have a Pizza Uno's near you and/or would you consider using them?  They have an entire GF menu, including pizza options (individual sizes) that might make your life easier if that's a possibility.

When my GF sister comes to my house for parties I do like to provide her with some GF options (e.g., cupcakes) that are similar to the party food, so she doesn't feel so singled out.  I find Trader Joe's and Whole Foods to be useful sources for these.

We have...none of those options around here. We do have a GF section at the grocery store, but Mom has tried most of their offerings and says they're pretty terrible.

Bummer. I hear the mixes you can buy from Amazon are usually pretty good, and I know thy have some food options in their grocery section, but I don't know much about them. Any local organic markets?  They may be a good resource.

[Outdoor Girl]

Talk to your Mom and see how she feels.  'Mom, we are going to order pizza for the party and have a veggie tray and cake and ice cream for dessert.  If I picked up some GF crackers and some cheese for you, are you OK with the veggie tray and just ice cream?'

If it were a formal dinner party, I would make much more of an effort to make (mostly) everything GF.  But for a more casual event, unless your Mom is unreasonable, she's going to say, 'Honey, that sounds fine.'

(When it comes time to make your mother a birthday cake, PM me.  I have a carrot cake recipe that I adapted to make gluten free.  It is fabulous.)

[Tilt Fairy]

Talk to your Mom and see how she feels.  'Mom, we are going to order pizza for the party and have a veggie tray and cake and ice cream for dessert.  If I picked up some GF crackers and some cheese for you, are you OK with the veggie tray and just ice cream?'

If it were a formal dinner party, I would make much more of an effort to make (mostly) everything GF.  But for a more casual event, unless your Mom is unreasonable, she's going to say, 'Honey, that sounds fine.'

(When it comes time to make your mother a birthday cake, PM me.  I have a carrot cake recipe that I adapted to make gluten free.  It is fabulous.)

This.

Also, the party is only 2 hours long, not a dinner party so nibbles will be fine for most people. If you could, it would be nice to maybe get something thats easy, convenient and inexpensive thats gluten free to make your mother perhaps have more choice but chances are she would be happy with what you have already that she can eat. Mothers are wonderful creatures. Very accommodating and very understanding.

[Isometric]

I would provide something for your mother. From experience, With the smell of pizza wafting over, a veggie tray just wouldn't cut it for me. I wouldn't go OTT, a frozen GF pizza, or ready made mix with ham and pineapple topping should be inexpensive and easy. Even if she doesn't love the pre made GF grocery store stuff, at least she will have something hot like everyone else. Maybe check with the pizza place too, a surprising number do do GF bases and don't advertise.

I agree with the previous poster about buying a single GF cupcake for dessert too.

[Aeris]

I don't think you need to have an exact replica of everything else you're serving, but you absolutely do need to have something more substantial for her than veggies and dip. To me, it's not the fact that these are snacks that make them completely insufficient, but the fact that they have almost no calories.

The only substantial calories from veggies and dip come from the dip itself, which is going to be come combination of fat and sugar. If the only other thing you had that she could eat was ice cream, that would be more fat/sugar. Most people aren't going to feel too hot if they only have fat/sugar to nibble on for a few hours.

I think you have a number of options, but even something as simple as expanding the veggie tray to a full coldcuts tray (with some cheese, some meats, and some GF crackers) would do, if that's all you can manage. The protein and complex carbs there will make a world of difference.

In my opinion having an individual GF microwavable meal would be gracious and hospitable. It's not strictly necesssary, if you have *something* for her to eat that's more than veggies/dip/icecream, but it's certainly nice. People have done this for me as a vegetarian on a few occasions, and it always really nice.

Or you could ask your mom to bring over an individual GF meal of her choosing.

[Bluenomi]

I had one gluten free person at DD's birthday party last year. I just bought a packet mix for gluten free cupcakes and made those and pointed them out to the kid's mum. I didn't want him missing out on cake and they all got eaten so it wasn't a waste.

[Teenyweeny]

A few chicken wings and some potato wedges would make inexpensive, hearty additions to the menu. I really think that you should do your level best to offer your mother hospitality on a par with the other people who are going to be there.

Look at it this way: if you really, truly believed that a veggie tray and some ice cream was sufficient hospitality for someone coming to your party, you'd save yourself time and expense and not order the pizzas at all. The fact that you are getting pizza means that you think the veggie tray and ice cream is *not* enough. So your mum needs more food, even if it's only a three-bean salad and some potatoes.