Holiday Food Festivities for Kids

Turn a holiday play date into a holiday treat.

Gingerbread Village Festival:

Plan: As host, you will mix, roll and bake the dough into shapes before young guests arrive. Encourage each child to bring their favorite decorative candies and snacks to share. Some favorites include, pretzel sticks for fences, gum drops for colorful walkways and peppermint sticks for columns.

Set-Up: Set a place at your kitchen table for each child with four pre-baked walls, two roof rectangles and a plastic baggie full of sticky royal icing with one tip cut off. They’ll also each need their own foil wrapped piece of heavy duty cardboard (think pizza box) to use as the based of their house. Set up bowls in the center of the table so the children can reach their decorative candies on their own.

Party: Squeezing icing out of the tip of a plastic baggie rather than spreading it, most school-aged kids are able to pipe the “snowy cement” on their own without creating a huge mess. Begin by showing them how to construct their own houses out of the wall and roof cut-outs that you prepared. Then give them some freedom to allow their imaginations to run wild as they embellish on their homes on their own.

Once their houses are complete, read the story of “The Gingerbread Man” or show a video so they stay away from their creations until they are fully dry and stable. Before they leave, encourage the kids to shuffle their houses around to create the ultimate Gingerbread Village. Place tea candles inside the houses for a dramatic effect.

Sugar Cookies for Santa Soiree:

Plan: Mix a large batch of sugar cookie dough with your kids before their guests arrive. Divide dough into 3 bowls—leaving one alone and mixing the other two with green and red food coloring respectively. Roll into sheets and refrigerate. Also, prepare frosting and purchase plenty of colorful sprinkles and other edible decorations. Invite neighborhood friends to come over to cut and color festive cookies for their favorite holiday hero.

Set-up: Provide each child with a sheet of rolled out cookie dough, one cookie cutter, a piece of foil and plenty of extra flour for sticky hands. Place all decorative items including icing and sprinkles on a counter, out of reach from the kids, until all of the baking is complete.

Party: Instruct the children to write their names on their foil sheet before filling with cookie cut-outs. In order to make sure that everyone gets to use each cookie cutter at least once, play “pass-the-cutter” while you work. After each child uses their cutter, they pass it clockwise until it reaches their seat again. At that point, they may continue to pass it clockwise or trade with their friends across the table for another favorite shape. The child who fills his sheet first wins first dibs on oven space.

While you bake and cool the cookies, provide your little guests with white paper plates and colorful markers to make festive cookie platters for Mr. Claus himself. When cookies are cool to the touch, begin cookie decoration with icing, food coloring and plenty of sprinkles. Be sure to have lots of small mixing bowls on hand so kids can mix their own vibrant frostings. Spread with popsicle sticks or butter knives for a thick solid coating or place into plastic baggies so they may pipe more elaborate decorations if they are ready.

Peppermint Stick Sundae Social:

Plan: Make it or buy it, but be sure to provide a choice of chocolate or vanilla ice cream for the kids. As host, you also supply the peppermint sticks. Invite guests to bring whipped cream, hot fudge, sprinkles or another one of their favorite toppings.

Set-up: Before breaking out the ice cream, give each child one large or two small candy canes in an airtight baggie. Scoop out a portion of ice cream for each child and set out to melt slightly. Pour each topping into its own bowls and line up buffet-style on the kitchen counter.

Party: First, let the kids blow off a little steam by crushing the candy canes in their baggies with a wooden rolling pin or meat tenderizing mallet. Then, place a portion of slightly meted ice cream in front of each child. Encourage kids to stir the crushed candy cane pieces into their ice cream. Give the kids license to top of the treats with goodies of their choice. Now, build a big fire and get cozy.