When a children's party is being held at a restaurant, there's a need to ensure the kids are not only fed but also entertained. Keeping kids occupied can help ensure the other diners in the restaurant are able to enjoy their food without being disturbed by overexcited youngsters. One option for entertaining kids at a party is to offer a fun, make-your-own dessert, which doubles as a treat and an activity. This can be done at the table and requires no special equipment, so there's no additional outlay. Here are five make-your-own dessert ideas for children's parties:

Banana Splits

Banana splits are a classic dessert and are sure to be a party hit thanks to all the fun toppings kids can choose from. Simply provide sliced bananas and vanilla ice-cream or yogurt for kids to scoop into their bowl. They can then top their dessert with colourful sprinkles, chocolate chips, chopped nuts or fruit, such as cherries, blueberries and raspberries.

Fruit Kebabs

Fruit kebabs provide lots of choice for kids, and they'll love experimenting with different combinations. Simply provide kid-friendly skewers, a variety of cut-up fruit and a few dipping options. Sliced apples, strawberries, pineapple chunks, orange segments and sliced bananas hold up well on skewers, and fruit works well with chocolate sauce, maple syrup or honey-sweetened yogurt as a dip.

Caramel Apple Rings

Caramel apple rings are a sweet treat with a satisfying crunch, and kids can make them their own by topping them with dried fruit, nuts or shredded coconut and drizzling them with chocolate sauce. Simply put out dishes of cored apples sliced into rings, thick caramel sauce for spreading onto the apple slices and a selection of toppings.

Ice Cream Bar

An ice cream bar is a party favourite and offers lots of flavour and texture combinations for kids to experiment with. Provide a few flavours of ice cream, several toppings and classic raspberry and chocolate sauces for drizzling. Fun toppings for an ice cream bar include sprinkles, edible glitter, chocolate chips, mini brownie bites, berries and peanut butter cups.

Fruit Pizzas

Fruit pizzas are a fun twist on a children's favourite, and there's no need to bake them, so they are quick and easy for kids to put together. For the base, you can provide standard pre-cooked mini pizza bases and instead of pizza sauce, kids can opt for whipped cream, thick yogurt or sweetened cream cheese. The pizzas are then topped with a variety of fruit, such as kiwis, strawberries, bananas, mangoes and blueberries. This DIY dessert can also double as a competition, with a small prize being offered to the person with the best-decorated pizza.

These are just a few examples of make-your-own desserts that will ensure kids have fun while attending a party at a restaurant. Kids tend to have their own fun ideas for desserts too, and including them in the final decision will help ensure the party is a success. Look for places that provide kids parties to learn about what you can do.