How to Include an Older Child in Preparing Holiday Meals

Older kids can be very helpful in the kitchen, especially during holiday times, when there are lots of fun recipes to make.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Cookbooks
• Baking Pans
• Baking Sheets
• Cookie Cutters
• Personalized Aprons
• Platters
• Baking sheets

1. Let them help you with holiday baking. Children love making and decorating cakes, pies and cookies. Older kids may be able to make entire recipes from scratch without a lot of help, while younger children will need more assistance and supervision.

2. Teach them some favorite family recipes ' in every family, there are certain dishes that just have to be on the holiday table, and your kids will have fun learning the stories that accompany their holiday favorites.

3. Get them to be prep cooks well in advance of the holiday meal. There are lots of recipes that need to be started a day or two before a big feast, and other simple preparations that can be done well in advance. This means your kids can work with you while the house is still calm and quiet.

4. Show them how to put together bite-sized party appetizers ' school-aged children are great at arranging toppings on crackers, skewering bite-sized chunks of food onto toothpicks, and arranging vegetables, breadsticks, or chips and dips onto platters.

5. Divide your holiday menu into individual elements or tasks, ask your kids which parts they would like to help prepare, then post the results on the fridge or bulletin board along with a schedule showing when everything needs to be done. This will eliminate quarrels over who does what, and will help to keep everything running smoothly and on time.

Tips & Warnings

• Teach your kids to tidy and wash up after themselves as they work ' this will help them to realize that cleanup is an important and unavoidable part of cooking.
• Child-sized aprons make great gifts for kids who like to cook ' personalize them with fabric paint or let your children create their own designs.
• There are many excellent children's cookbooks available; ask other parents to recommend a good cookbook, or talk to the manager of the children's book department at your favorite bookstore.
• Never let anyone handle raw poultry or taste raw dough or batter that contains eggs. Raw eggs and poultry can be contaminated with salmonella, so stuff the turkey yourself, and resist the urge to lick baking bowls and spoons.
• Teach your children to be careful around knives and heat sources ' always supervise them in the kitchen, even if they are used to cooking with you.