Cooking together can be a fun and educational experience for kids, and it helps create wonderful holiday memories. But sometimes it can be hard to think of ways that they can help without slowing down the process. Now you don’t have to figure it out, because this post has simple ideas for how kids can help with ten common holiday side dishes and desserts!
Side Dishes
- Mashed Potatoes:
- Kids can peel and chop potatoes (with supervision), boil them until tender, and help mash them with butter and milk (or a dairy-free alternative).
- Encourage them to add seasonings like salt and pepper.
- Cranberry Sauce:
- Children can measure and stir together cranberries, sugar, and orange juice in a saucepan.
- As the mixture simmers, they can watch the cranberries pop and break down, creating a delicious sauce.
- Stuffing or Dressing:
- Kids can help tear bread into small pieces and mix it with herbs, sautéed onions, and celery.
- They can also assist with adding broth to create the desired stuffing texture.
- Sweet Potato Casserole:
- Children can peel and chop sweet potatoes (with supervision) and mix them with butter, brown sugar, and spices.
- For a sweeter version, some families let kids top it with mini marshmallows.
- Green Bean Casserole:
- Kids can wash and trim green beans and help mix them with cream of mushroom soup and crispy fried onions.
- Bonus idea: For any dish with fresh herbs, kids can pull the leaves off the stem – basil, parsley, sage, thyme, etc.
Desserts
- Pumpkin Pie:
- Kids can help make the pie crust by mixing the ingredients then help roll it out.
- They can also assist with mixing the pumpkin pie filling and pouring it into the crust.
- Gingerbread Cookies:
- Children can help with measuring and mixing the cookie dough ingredients.
- Let them use cookie cutters to create holiday shapes and decorate the cookies with icing and sprinkles. If you don’t have cookie cutters, different size cups work well too to make round cookies.
- Fruit Salad:
- Kids can wash and chop a variety of fruits, including apples, pears, and grapes.
- Allow them to mix the fruits in a bowl with a simple fruit juice or yogurt dressing.
- Trifle:
- Kids can layer pieces of cake, whipped cream or yogurt, and fruit in a trifle dish.
- This is a great no-bake dessert that they can assemble and decorate.
- Chocolate Dipped Pretzel Rods:
- Children can dip pretzel rods in melted chocolate and add festive sprinkles or crushed candy canes for decoration.