Christmas is a wonderful time of year, and one of the highlights is that you get the chance to cook lots of delicious food. It’s also a great idea to get your kids to help you – there are plenty of ways they can help and make your life easier, which is a relief when there’s so much to do if you’ve invited family and friends over. I’m going to share some of my favourite festive recipes that children can help with – enjoy! 

Christmas is a wonderful time of year, and one of the highlights is that you get the chance to cook lots of delicious food. It’s also a great idea to get your kids to help you – there are plenty of ways they can help and make your life easier, which is a relief when there’s so much to do if you’ve invited family and friends over. I’m going to share some of my favourite festive recipes that children can help with – enjoy! 

Marshmallow snowmen 

It’s always good to start with something sweet, and these marshmallow snowmen look fantastic! They’re great for Christmas parties and playdates. Plus, there’s no actual cooking involved, and no hot pans or heat, so it’s perfectly safe for kids to help.  

Ingredients 

• 24 white marshmallows 
• 400g pre-made fondant icing 
• food colouring (black, and orange) 
• Smarties 
• strawberry laces 
• peanut-butter cups 

Method 

• Thread three marshmallows on to a lolly stick, with the top one threaded on sideways, to make the snowman’s face 
• Decorate the snowman’s tummy with Smarties to make his buttons 
• Plait three strawberry laces together, then cut off in small lengths, and tie them round the snowman’s neck to make his scarf 
• Prepare a bowl of fondant icing with the black and orange food colourings, then pipe them on to each snowman – orange icing for the nose, and black for his eyes 
• Use a peanut-butter cup for each snowman’s hat! 

Christmas jacket potatoes  

If you’re like me, after Christmas dinner, you’ll have a mountain of leftovers. Well, this ingenious recipe is a great way of using up those tasty accompaniments, and it’s a lovely dish to make with the help of your children. Everyone loves a jacket potato, and if you’re a little pushed for time, you can use microwave baked potatoes from McCain – they taste great and only take five minutes, which is handy if you have people over and have a busy day ahead! 

Ingredients 

• 4 good-sized floury potatoes 
• 8-10 leftover pigs in blankets, chopped up 
• a handful of leftover Brussels sprouts, finely chopped 
• a handful of leftover turkey, shredded (a mix of white and dark meat is best) 
• 100g Stilton cheese, crumbled 

Method 

• Rinse the potatoes, prick them with a fork, sprinkle a little salt over them, and bake in the oven at 200˚C for 60 minutes, or until the skin is crispy 
• Once the potatoes are done, scoop out the flesh into a bowl, and mix in the sausages/bacon, sprouts and Turkey 
• Spoon the mixture back into the potato skins, then sprinkle over the Stilton (let your kids do this bit!) 
• Place under a hot grill for a couple of minutes until the cheese melts 
• Serve with a dollop of crème fraîche and a green salad. 

Christmas cake 

It’s a long-standing tradition to get the family involved when making your Christmas cake. I won’t go into detail about making the cake itself, but make sure you let each member of your family give the mixture a good stir, and to make a wish while they’re doing it! But the real fun comes when it’s time to ice and decorate the cake – and it’s perfect to let your kids help and let their imagination run riot. I’m going to be making some marzipan trees for the cake, too – a dusting of icing sugar on top gives a wonderfully wintery feel! 

Ingredients 

• one Christmas cake! 
• a pack of pre-made fondant icing 
• 250g marzipan 
• silver balls 
• food colouring (green) 
• icing sugar 

Method  

• Roll out the icing and carefully drape over the cake, smoothing over any wrinkles, and trimming around the base of the cake 
• Place the marzipan in a bowl, and a few drops of green food colouring and stir well 
• Roll out the marzipan on a board, then get your kids to press out tree shapes with cookie cutters 
• Make a paste with a spoonful of icing sugar and a little water 
• Make a base for each tree with some of the fondant-icing trimmings, and stick each one to the cake with some of the paste 
• Plant each marzipan tree on a base 
• Dust the cake with sieved icing sugar, and wait for the gasps of appreciation! 

These three recipes are packed with festive fun, and are a great way to get your kids into the kitchen. Don’t worry about making a mess – that’s all part of it! And who knows? Get your children interested in cooking at an early age, and they might end up being the next Jamie or Nigella? At the very least, they should be able to rustle up something as they get older – and being able to cook for yourself is a seriously valuable life skill. Merry Christmas!