Cooking with young children is a great way to celebrate the holidays. Children can learn early math and team-building skills while working to create tasty, seasonal treats! The recipes below are delicious and simple, and require a minimal number of ingredients. And all of the recipes are nut-free, so they are safe for snacking if you have children with allergies!
Rice Krispie treats are easy to whip together, require just a few ingredients, and are always a classroom favorite! Click here to find a recipe. These trees can be prepped before-hand for children to decorate, or they can be made with the help of young children as a group activity. Mini m&m’s, sprinkles, and frosting can become festive tree decorations. If you have leftover cookies or treats from other snacks, you can crush them to use as toppings, too.
If cooking or baking with your children sounds too ambitious, you and the kiddos can focus on decorating cookies. Click here to find a recipe for marshmallow frosting that can be made in lots of different colors for children to decorate their cookies however they’d like. You might even invite parents to join for a family holiday celebration!
If you have children in your care who celebrate Hanukkah, or if you would like to introduce the holiday to your class, potato latkes are a simple and tasty dish to prepare and enjoy. Click here to find a simple recipe that can be easily made with young children (feel free to leave out the onions for younger children to keep this recipe more simple). If this recipe feels too complex for little fingers, you might want to prep the potatoes for toddlers or young preschoolers.
Kwanzaa is also celebrated at the end of December, starting the day after Christmas. This holiday can be celebrated with a kid-friendly recipe that incorporates the colors of the African flag. All you will need is pretzel sticks, store-bought frosting, and sprinkles (in red, black, and green). Dip the top of the pretzels in frosting and decorate with sprinkles!
