One of the best ways to enjoy the warmth, excitement, and sweetness of the holiday season is to start a tradition of baking treats with your child. Whether you are baking cookies for a classroom party or whipping up treats for neighbors, involving your child in holiday baking is an excellent way to teach your child new skills, enjoy quality time together, and make lasting holiday memories. Here are some tips to make your holiday baking successful and stress-free.
1. Reinforce Cooking Safety Rules
Remind your child to not use the stove or oven without permission, and stay close by when they are near hot surfaces and electrical appliances. Reinforcing kitchen safety rules early on will help build lifelong habits.
2. Set Up a Kid-Friendly Workspace and Embrace Mess
Set your child up for success by clearing a section of the counter or table to give your child their own “baking zone.” Use a silicone placemat, cutting board, or baking sheet as a tabletop surface to contain flour or sprinkles and minimize cleanup. Baking with children can get messy but expecting it will help manage stress when spills and drips happen. Keep a damp cloth close by to clean up messes as you go and have your child wear an apron or old t-shirt.
3. Invite Your Child to Pick the Recipe
The key to having your child picking the recipe and not hating yourself for it afterwards is to preselect a few kid-friendly recipes you feel confident in executing.
Here are some fun, holiday-themed recipe ideas:
- Healthy No-Bake Reindeer Bites
- Santa Hat Cupcakes
- Christmas Bark
- Chocolate Candy Cane Hearts
- Reindeer Rice Crispy Treats
- Eggnog Sugar Cookies
4. Give Age-Appropriate Tasks
Children are excited to be entrusted with real responsibilities. Tasks for younger children could include:
- pouring pre-measured ingredients
- stirring batter
- pressing cookie cutters
- decorating cooled cookies
- spreading icing on a cake or pouring glaze (with assistance)
- arranging cookies on a plate
Older children may help reading the recipe, measuring ingredients with supervision, or cracking eggs. Have younger children practice counting, and for older children, baking offers a fun opportunity to reinforce concepts like fractions and multiplication when doubling or tripling a recipe.
5. Make it Silly
Try coming up with designated titles for each person participating, like “Chef,” “Master Baker,” or “Muffin Man.” While baking together, you can refer to each other by these titles: “would you please pass the stirring spoon, Master Baker Braydon?” Making the moment fun — which for a child often means silly — will help create lasting memories for everyone.
6. Make Cleanup Part of the Fun
When you turn clean up into a game, kids scramble to join in: who can gather the most cookie cutters, or who can wipe off the counter the best so that no crumbs are left? Or you can try setting a timer for five or ten minutes and race the clock to see if you can clean everything up before the timer goes off. Kids love to participate in cleanup when they see you eagerly and cheerfully leading the way, and engaging children in cleanup teaches them responsibility and good lifelong habits.
Holiday baking is not just about making treats — it’s about making sweet memories you and your child will cherish. A little planning, a little patience, and a lot of sprinkles go a long way. Milestones Learning Center is an environment where the holidays are made intentional for fun, creativity, and connection. Contact us to today to learn more.