This Christmas we were asked to write and article for the Boss Mummas Magazine all about baking with your kids this festive season and how to make it less stressful. If you missed our featured article here is it below:
I am Ashley the creator behind Bake it by Giovannellis, which was born out of a love of all things baking & the pure happiness it can bring. We wanted to create Baking Mixes that are easy to do but still have that delicious flavour of home-made baked goodies. Without adding in any additional preservatives or artificial colours and flavours. We genuinely believe everyone should be able to make delicious baked goods and create wonderful memories in the kitchen with their kids without it being complicated or stressful.
Whilst baking with kids can seem like it might be stressful or too messy! We have some terrific tips to help you minimise the stress of baking this Christmas with your kids.
- Firstly, start with something simple, like a baking mix that is going to be easy to make for you and the kids. Don’t try to make macarons for the first time with three kids wanting to help, that may be a little stressful!
- Prep! Is my top tip for baking with your kids. Kids can have a short attention span & want to do everything right away. So, before you start get all your measuring spoons, bowls, eggs etc out. That way you’re not going back and forth around the kitchen trying to watch the kids on the bench while trying to find the measuring spoons. It may seem simple but spending a couple of minutes before hand to get things ready can really make a huge difference in how stressful it is, and it will save you time baking.
- When it comes to things like eggs little hands can sometimes find it hard to crack, instead get them to crack eggs into a separate bowl or cup first so that you can get any shells out that have fallen in before adding it to your mixture.
- Let them have a little independence, there are some fantastic studies on the link of kids baking or cooking and eating a wider variety of food whilst also improving their fine motor skills. Even if you’re helping by holding the cup underneath so they don’t drop it, let them hold the handle to feel as if they are doing it themselves. I have countless parents tell me how proud their kids are to have baked their cupcakes by themselves. Imagine how excited they will be putting out the cookies they made especially for Santa on Christmas Eve!
- Lastly let go of perfection and worrying about mess. Sure, they icing might not be perfect, the cookies might be a little wonky & the kids might spill a little milk. But your cookies will taste good no matter how they look. Enjoy the process and enjoy making those beautiful memories with your kids, even the messy ones. It will quickly become a tradition of making Christmas Cookies as a family each year and it’s such a wonderful tradition to create for your little ones that they will cherish when they are older.
