My kids are always under foot in the kitchen. So this holiday season I am looking for some treats that they can help me make that not only brighten their day but could also be used as cute gifts around the neighborhood and office.
There is nothing cuter then watching my son get decked out in his cooking apron with my princess daughter right behind him. Nevermind, that her chef hat is covering her eyes and she cares more about getting messy then actually helping. So what if she has chocolate and peanut butter in her hair, ears and other crevices. This is the stuff holidays are made of and the great thing is cuddling up with the goodies after a nice warm bath anyway. Besides it keeps you from tripping over them or a stray toy as you walk from the counter to the stove.
So here are a few easy holiday treats that really get the kids involved. The first few go better with Thanksgiving and the last are more Christmas oriented.
Turkeys
You will need Ritz Crackers, a Container of chocolate icing, Hershey kisses and candy corn. Allow the child to smooth the icing on the cracker. Then arrange candy corn on the back edge of the cracker to form tail feathers. Place a Hershey kiss in front of the feathers to form a turkey. For older kids, you can even have a dab of icing on top of the kiss with another candy corn stuck to it for a beak for the turkey. The kids will just like creating. They don’t have to look perfect.
Cornucopias
Have the children make their own cornucopia for snack by filling a sugar ice cream cone with real fruit such as apples, berries and grapes or fruit snacks.
Pumpkin Pudding
Find a Tupperware bowl and add instant vanilla pudding and milk. Have your kids take turns shaking until pudding is make. Then add two teaspoons of pumpkin pie filling, dash of cinnamon. Shake and serve.
Cookies
My kids love to make Christmas cookies. Here’s the catch: what adults view as cheating when making these timeless treasures, I view as making it kid friendly. I buy the precut sugar cookie dough at the store. Then I buy the tubs of icing. Next I get a variety of sprinkles and then I let the kids go to town. They can do it all-put the dough on the cookie sheet, bake them, spread the icing and decorate. If I am feeling saucy I will roll the prepackaged dough out and get out the cookie cutters for them. Either way, they take great joy in the creation process.
Gingerbread House
The great thing about living in this day and age is that you don’t have to be super crafty anymore. Wal-Mart sells pre-made gingerbread houses in which all you have to do is do the icing and candy. The kids love it and it is easy for you because you are not spending all day baking gingerbread. Buy the gingerbread candle though for the smell effect.
These are just a few suggestions. For older kids or for the real bakers, you will be surprise at how much your kids can participate. My kindergartener could crack eggs better than I could. He loved stirring. My daughter loved playing the flour. It didn’t matter. It was a day of bonding in the kitchen.
That is really what is important-spending time together as a family during the holidays. I have fond memories of cooking with my mom when I was little and I want to pass on the same to my kids. Kids can never be too young either. When we started this tradition, my daughter was barely two and her cookies had the most icing! So get in the kitchen and just play with the kids while getting covered in food. You will be amazed at their creations and probably gain a few pounds in the process.
If you have any favorite family recipes, feel free to leave them in the comments.
