inspiration365: Involving the Kids at Mealtimes During the Holidays

December 15, 20141 Comment

Ideas for Involving the Kids in the Kitchen…

Although I always enjoy the holidays, they are inevitably hectic: one of our daughters has a birthday at the end of December; there are presents to buy (and some to mail out); school celebrations to contribute to and attend; holiday parties; family gatherings; and planning for winter break.  On top of that is the normal, everyday routine that includes feeding our families.  This paints a picture that may look familiar to you as well.  My challenge is always slowing down and shifting gears from the “get-that-list-checked-off” feeling so I can appreciate what the holidays are like for my girls; thinking of how they see all this through their eyes allows me to refocus.  It is fun to encourage and prolong the joys of the season for them, and one way I enjoy doing that is through cooking and mealtimes–they are daily opportunities for check in during all the excitement of the holidays.

We wanted to share just a few of the ways Sharon and I involve our kids in planning, cooking, and setting up meals.  Of course, none of these is exclusive to the holiday season, but they seem to take on even more fun and importance during a time when we want to connect and share with our families.

Ideas for Involving the Kids in the Kitchen……with food preparation.
These are a few of the things we do with our kids, but ours are still little ones; some of this list will surely change as they get older (we’d love to hear your ideas if you have older children!).

• Meal choices:  As you begin to run out of inspiration for what to cook, ask your family what they are craving. Even if you get some silly or overcomplicated suggestions, it may spark some ideas.
• Measuring:  This is something easy for kids to help with, and it gives that sense of playing with the food.  It is also a fun way to expose them to ingredients, especially fragrant spices in savory dishes.
• Picking out ingredients:  Kids can “shop” in the pantry, practice their reading skills, or just help out by grabbing stuff for you under your direction.
• Cutting:  A kid-safe knife allows little ones to cut softer ingredients. I still supervise, but they just love being able to cut up ingredients.
• Crafting while I cook:  If I don’t need any help with dinner, or just don’t have enough time–or patience–to include the kids, I can rely on having them do a craft in the kitchen while I cook.  Ornaments and gifts for family are good options for this time of year.  I keep supplies on hand near the kitchen just for these times.
• Baking:  Sharon is a wonderful baker and does a terrific job of including her kids in baking projects.  I have a tougher time since I don’t bake often.  Since it doesn’t come naturally to me, I can get more stressed about having the kids help out, but I am trying! If we want to bake something, but the idea of a mess everywhere is just too much, I will measure out ingredients so that the kids can do all the mixing.
• Pancake shapes:  This is something we have been doing for a while, and the kids love it.  I have done this when we have friends over as well; I get a hard time for being too “Martha Stewart,” but honestly it is the easiest thing!  I just pour my pancake batter (recipe below) into a plastic condiment squeeze bottle.  To use it for pancakes, I cut the tip off a little to widen the opening.  (I got mine at Bed, Bath, and Beyond, but there are also more “professional” versions available at food specialty stores, like Williams-Sonoma.)  I have an electric griddle that makes it super easy to make pancakes, although it certainly isn’t necessary.  With some supervision, my girls draw their own pancake shapes, although I end up doing most of them under their direction.  During the holidays, we make special shapes appropriate for that holiday, and they have fun seeing how their ideas turn out.

Ideas for Involving the Kids in the Kitchen……with mealtimes.

• Setting the table:  An everyday task that our kids always help with, but during the holidays we sometimes add special touches to our everyday meals.
  • Centerpieces: This is an easy way to get kids to help out, especially since they can just grab some stuff to put in the center of the table.  We like using projects from school for holiday tables since it makes the kids proud to see their work included.
  • Placemats:  There are so many fun options available that kids can “customize,” or create on again and again (dry erase, chalk, etc…), and they can always create their own.  This can be a fun conversation starter.

Recipe: “Oh Boy” Pancakes
I am not sure where this recipe originally came from, but I got the recipe from my mother-in-law, and it has been our favorite pancake batter recipe ever since. When I use it in a squeeze bottle to make pancake “shapes,” I add a little more milk to thin it out.

• 1 1/4 cups sifted flour
• 3 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 beaten egg
• 1 cup milk
• 2 tablespoons canola oil

Sift together flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt.  Combine egg, milk, and oil; add to the dry ingredients just before cooking.  Stir until just moistened.  Makes about 12 dollar-size pancakes.