It’s the 30th of November and not only are the Elves returning tomorrow from the North Pole ready to cause mayhem, but I have nativity costumes to source and Christmas shopping still to finalise. The one thing I am looking forward to this week is the house being filled with Christmassy aromas from the kitchen.
Throughout December I love nothing more than spending time with my three children in the kitchen cooking. Whether it is a last-minute Christmas cake for the Grandparents, Mince Pies for our friends or Christmas cookies for the children, I love that cooking allows me time with the children away from the manic few weeks leading up to Christmas.
Every year we make Christmas Cakes. This tradition was passed down to me from my mother, in which I started with my children when they were around the age of 2/3 respectively. They love nothing more than baking a fruit cake and decorating with marzipan and icing, then presenting their bakes to their relatives. It allows them to be creative and experimental.
If your looking for some ideas and tips of how to get your children into the kitchen and cooking this Christmas, have a read below at some of our fun recipes below:
Gingerbread Houses
This year we will be attempting to create our own Gingerbread house. After last year’s dismal attempt, I am hoping that the children being a year older, means they have a little bit more patience and perseverance. It is the prefect way to get the entire family involved in baking over Christmas. If you want to try at home, I have added the recipe at the bottom of the page.
A few top tips:
Refrigerate your Gingerbread dough before rolling out.
When assembling your Gingerbread House, you can use baking glue or if your using icing, make sure it is thicker than normal to hold the sides together.
Leave your assembled Gingerbread House to sit for at least an hour before letting the children loose decorating it.
Whether it’s a success or failure, your house will smell like Christmas for days to come.
Click below to see our recipe:
Mince Pies
Believe it or not, Britain tucks into more than 800 million of these mouthfuls of sweetness over the festive season. When I see a Mince Pie, I always think of Marmite – you either love these or hate these! Regardless, they’re a great Christmas recipe for kids and they’ll love making these. Perfect for all ages!
If you’re looking for a fun activity with the little ones in the run up to Christmas, why not try and make your own. Click below to see our own Classroom Kitchen recipe:
Carrot and Tomato Soup
This winter warmer is a simple and quick to make and perfect for those chilly days. It even tempts the littles ones to eat their carrots so they can see as well as Santa’s Reindeer. Don’t forget the leave the carrot out for Rudolph on Christmas Eve!!
You can easily customise the recipe with your own choice on spices. Why not try adding in some different vegetables too! It’s a great way for the kids to experiment with different fruits and vegetables. Trade secret: they’ll always eat it when they make it themselves.
Click below to see the recipe:
Leftover Christmas Curry
Moving on to the main event – Christmas Day meal! 10 million people in the UK consume Turkey in UK at Christmas. I always prepare my turkey on Christmas Eve with my children. I love that by encouraging them to help, they can learn where their food comes from and how to safely cook meat. I have a fantastic video of my daughter who was 5 when she first helped prepare our Turkey, putting her clean hand inside and pulling out the giblets shouting, ‘What’s This!?’ at the top of her voice. Her enthusiasm for food is endless!
A boxing day staple in our house. This can be made with any left-over meat, vegetables, and a bit of curry paste. Remember to pick up the rice and naan bread before the shops close for Christmas!
15-Minute Butterfly Pizzas
Finally, Pizza! Our children love pizza. Apart from Christmas Day, we try to keep the rest of the Christmas period very normal, as my son has sensory difficulties. Therefore, pizza is a firm favourite over the Christmas holidays. Our 15-minute pizzas require very minimal ingredients but promotes full creativity with whatever you have in your cupboard or fridge.
If you’re not out of the Christmas spirit by this point – you can cut your tortilla pizzas to any shape you’d like. Try making a Christmas Tree shape or how about… a Snowman!
See the recipe here:
The Christmas holidays may be filled with a bit of chaos and madness, but there is always time to make memories in the kitchen with loved ones. Whether that’s making Christmas food gifts, preparing the Christmas main event, or designing the perfect boxing day pizza!
May your Christmas be filled with cinnamon and successfully built Gingerbread houses!
Behind the blog…
Lauren Mullen – Admin Assistant for the Classroom Kitchen Service!
Email: lmullen@classroom-kitchen.co.uk
