Confession: I actually meant to write this post about baking with kids & post this before Christmas, when normal people do most of their holiday baking. But lets be honest, this past holiday season was a little bit of a chaotic blur our family with the birth of our third child the end of October, so the post never happened, mainly because the whole holiday baking thing never happened in our house. But here it is 😉
During the Christmas season 2016, we made cookies occasionally, and we ate them just as fast as we could take them out of the oven, and we enjoyed every second. We may not have taken a lot (if any pictures) but my kids remember it fondly and still talk about it. I am glad that in the newborn baby haze and as sore as I was after having a fast delivery and having a tubal afterwards, I still took the time from recovery and made a memory.
Whatever the season, and whether you use a mixer or spoon, sprinkles and what ever variety of baking ingredients that you just picked up on sale at the local grocery store, to bake cookies, candies, and delicious treats for those you love. Whether you are a parent, grandparent, aunt/uncle, or just someone who is around kids here are 5 things to remember when baking with kids.
5. They have no idea what they are doing.
Kids are still kids. They don’t know not to put their hand in the flour, or not to sneeze in the mixing bowl.
4. Do what works for you.
Just like parenting in general, do what works for you. Buy pre made cookies and just frost and sprinkle them at home… Awesome (part genous). Make Everything from scratch, great. Whatever works for you and your family.
Honestly, whenever I work with my kids in the kitchen I clean it first.
Why? They are kids, they specifically my 2 year old may not remember its not a good idea to lick the counter, or bite mom’s spatula (legit experience). I am a little more relaxed with a clean kitchen and if the mood strikes to take some pictures to send to dad or the grandparents, or post on instagram stories ,boom done.
I was pretty excited when I discovered Clorox Scentiva spray, it has the same cleaning and disinfectant power that Clorox spray is known for, but it smells like relaxing Lavender & Jasmine. So my kitchen, bathroom, bedroom or my entryway (or entire house) smells like Lavender & Jasmine instead of farm life or living with toddlers. #momwin for #unleashthecleansquad
What makes the deal even sweeter is I heard about the product from a friend, but my local Walmart didn’t carry it so I was able order it online, and it is then able to shipo in two days (with no membership fee) to my doorstep or to my local walmart when I make a random run for fun things like getting my son’s glasses fixed. Again.
Plus I can use one of my favorite money Saving Apps Ibotta to save on top of the already low prices
3. Memories. You are doing it for the memories.
I can’t count the number of times my daughter (my oldest child) mentions memories of us baking or cooking together. Some were making entire projects from scratch, but a majority of them were not. Be silly. Take pictures. Have fun. Your kids are only kids one time.
2. It doesn’t have to be perfect.
Undercooked or overcooked the kids don’ t know the difference and let’s be honest it can likely be fixed with a little frosting 😉 or butter or sprinkles
1. Keep it Simple.
Kids will be kids, to me that means let the little things go. They will not remember how fancy the recipe is whether it is 100% organic, locally produced ingredients, or just a box mix that needs to be used because it expired yesterday. As I mentioned we do a lot of baking in our house but this past holiday 2016, we took advantage of all of the amazing Pinterest cookie recipes that required box mixes and a few other ingredients to make delicious easy recipes.
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