Ten days of December are already gone and in only two weeks we’d be celebrating Christmas with great verve over a feast, by close family and friends by our side. The last month of the year has always been my favorite of all the months – because I love the spirit of festivities surrounding this time of the year and it’s now become even more special with Little A’s birthday falling only two days after Christmas. The holiday warmth can be felt everywhere I go – from homes to malls to street-side stores displaying dazzling decor in colors mostly of golden, silver, green and red. When the last week of December will arrive, there will be celebrations over endless laughter at home, for which I can hardly wait!
As the day of Christmas is approaching, I am making efforts for Little A to learn a thing or two about the significance of the Day and the birth of Jesus Christ (also known as Isa Ibn Maryam in Islam), one at a time. He might be too young to grasp all that I have to tell him so we get down to some activities that are related to Christmas which are toddler friendly and is convenient to arrange. We started off with a snowman (which signifies winter and snow) and are slowly progressing towards miniature details of Christmas – tree, stars, wreaths, Santa, reindeer etc. Although we may buy a Christmas tree next year or a year to the next, it doesn’t stop us from creating tree crafts using papers and colors amongst other things. Hopefully, we may do a DIY card for teachers at his Kindergarten too.
The holidays are a great time to have fun and also learn new things with all the hoopla cushioning the festivals. Let us make an excuse this season to spend wonderful moments with our children by involving them in various activities we do and enter the kitchen with them in tow. You might be surprised how fun cooking with the kids can really be. The little helpers can form a strong bond with you, apart from forming some solid skills that will later help them in life. Age shouldn’t hinder you from engaging kids in the kitchen unless until the child is more than a year old. To give you a gist of how valuable these little monsters can be in a kitchen – a two year old child can comfortably stir the spoon and whisk a cake batter while the older kids can help you in shaping the cookies or fill the muffin moulds/pans. So bring on the aprons and dust off the flour because we sure going to be having loads of amazing time while we also make ample sweet memories. In the midst of all this, remember to be safe and ensure the safety of children in the kitchen at all times.
We got around to making this edible wreath which is cute, messy and imperfect that Little A got to decorate with sugar sprinkles, sugar butterflies and skittles. The other day when he came back from nursery I told him what I have lined for him that afternoon. He was so excited, he finished off his lunch and entered the kitchen singing that he’d be cooking with mom. He hasn’t seen a wreath before, may be he has while taking a stroll in a mall but doesn’t know what it actually is. I explained that it an ornament used to adorn the houses, told him that he’ll be decorating the one he’ll make with me and showed him some pictures so that he get an idea. This weekend I’ll be buying a wreath to show him what it really is.
We created this wreath with cornflakes, marshmallows (that Little A hadn’t tasted before) and white chocolate. The concept is to just melt them with butter, let it cool and ask your children to help in shaping them into a wreath which they’ll get to decorate on their own. I did the cooking part on stove all by myself. After the mixture was cool enough to handle for kids, Little A helped me in shaping it and added blings all by himself, without any help from me. In the end, we were one elated souls. Also very proud of our creation! I am also loving this rice krispie tree idea from Kitchen Frau that is very similar to the wreaths we made.
Ingredients:
- Butter – 1/4 cup, plus little for greasing
- Marshmallows – 7-8, regular
- Cornflakes – 1/2 cup, crushed
- White Chocolate – 85 gms
- Green Food Color – 2 tsp
- Colorful edible items for decoration. (We used sugar sprinkles, butterflies and skittles.)
Method:
In a pan over medium heat melt butter. Add marshmallows and melt them too stirring continuously so that the sugar crystals are not formed. Turn the heat to low; add white chocolate and food color. Let it melt. Stir in the cornflakes till the mixture is well combined. Turn the heat off. Let the mixture cool. Prepare the parchment paper over the working surface/area. Ask your children to help you in shaping the wreath and place them on a parchment paper. Make as many wreaths, of any size that you like. Let the kids decorate them using their own ideas.
