Christmas in the Kitchen with Kids

In today’s post you will find some terrific Christmas in the Kitchen Ideas including tips and recipes for baking with the kids, pretend Christmas kitchen play, and ways to keep the kids busy while you bake!

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Baking With the Kids

No Oven Involved

Have you tried this yet? Making a simple Gingerbread House with your child can be so much fun! (and is easier than you probably think!).

You will need:

• graham crackers
• a small box (a small milk box is the perfect size for little ones)
• white icing in a small cup with a plastic knife and in a tube (pre-bought) or prepared yourself
• candies to decorate (we used only mini marshmallows and chocolate chips as our choices are limited by my son’s peanut allergy)

Present the supplies to your child and show them how to spread the icing onto the box and then stick the crackers on.  Onetime (my 3 year old son) got the hang of this pretty quickly and only really needed help with the roof.

Although my son squeezed some of the tube icing, he found it easier to use the knife to spread the icing and then stick candies onto the house.  I used the tube icing to fill in the sides between crackers to hold the house together.

We did this awesome activity at an early years centre where tons of other kids made houses too.  I had to take some pictures to show you all the possibilities for this activity! Aren’t these adorable!  These kids were so proud and excited about their creations.

Turn That Oven On!

Why not build some spatial math skills while baking? Try making these awesome Tangram Christmas cookies from Left Brain Craft Brain.

Or, go with a theme – or use a favourite Christmas book as inspiration like My Bright Firefly did when they made Christmas Holiday Cookies using Jan Brett’s classic story“The Mitten” as inspiration.

My all-time favourite sugar cookie recipe is perfect for kids and Christmastime. They taste great and are easy to make.

All you need is a bunch of Christmas cookie cutters and if you feel like it – make some red, green and white icing for your child to decorate with.

You can find the Sugar Cookie Recipe along with tips for baking with kids in our post 10 Tips for Baking with Kids. Also – to find some tips for icing cookies, check out this post.

Don’t forget that reading cookbooks is a wonderful literacy activity.  I have a friend whose 8 year old daughter loves reading cookbooks so much she asks her mom to read recipes to her before bedtime! Visions of sugarplums indeed…

Planet Smarty Pants has some cookbook recommendations along with reasons why reading cookbooks is beneficial for kids!

Low Calorie Christmas Baking

Involving kids in the kitchen doesn’t necessarily mean you have to consume calories.

Instead try baking some adorable Christmas Salt Dough Ornaments with your kids using instructions from Mosswood Connections. 

Pretend Baking Christmas Play

Don’t feel like breaking open the flour? Try some of these pretend baking play ideas with your kids instead:

Make pretend Colorful Christmas Cookies from Best Toys 4 Toddlers. 

Or “bake” up some pretend Gingerbread Man Pretend Cookies from Totschooling. 

Still not done with gingerbread? Whip up some Gingerbread Cookie Playdough and give your child some small objects like coloured beans and lentils to decorate the “cookies” from One Time Through. 

I loved this adorable Mrs. Claus’s Kitchen setup at the local early years centre.

There were pretend felt cupcakes and even felt and pom pom cakes that had been created from empty margarine containers.  The best part for Onetime? The cakes made fun sounds when shaken (must have been beans or corn inside.)

Keep Them Busy While YOU Bake

Any of the above pretend kitchen play ideas can be used while you’re baking, but here are a few more than can be done right beside you in the kitchen.

This Christmas Baking-Themed Cloud Dough setup kept Onetime busy for almost an hour. Whip up a batch using our recipe which you can find here.

Colour half of it green and half red using candy food colours (like these: Wilton Primary Candy Color Set) mixed into the oil. Then give your kiddo some small pie tins (we found these star shaped ones at the dollar store), a whisk, some spoons, Christmas cookie cutters, and a bowl or muffin tin and see what creations they come up with!

If you’ve got a youngster who’s really too young to help and you still want to do your baking – try entertaining him or her with some flour on the floor along with some spoons and a measuring cup on top of  a large sheet to contain the mess (did you see our picture in the 10 Tips for Baking with Kids post above?) It might be messy, but they’ll be as happy as…pie!

Or just let them keep busy (without the mess) with Pots and Pans like they did over at The Way He Plays. 

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That’s it for this week! If you’re looking for other Christmas kids’ fun and educational activities, be sure to follow our Pinterest board: Follow One Time Through’s board Christmas on Pinterest.

Enjoy your time in the kitchen!

 

 

Please visit my fabulous friends!

A Little Pinch of Perfect: 25+ Easy Christmas Crafts for Kids & Toddlers

Left Brain Craft Brain: Tangram Christmas Cookies