3 Tips For Kid-Friendly Halloween Baking

According to the National Retail Federation, Americans will spend a record $9.1 billion on Halloween in 2017, This year, consider putting some of that hard-earned cash toward baking projects that you and your kids can do together.

The trick to baking with kids this Halloween is to make sure it's fun! And bringing the fun is easy, if you remember a few basic tips:

Choose appropriate projects.

All recipes have a level of difficulty attached to them, and this would not be the time to attempt complex, multi-stage and/or time-consuming recipes. In order to keep baking time with your kids fun and stress-free, choose ones that are relatively quick and easy, and appropriate to their age, skill level and attention spans. Here are some kid-friendly Halloween baking projects that we like.

Don't be afraid to make a mess.

As a parent, caregiver or other adult, you probably have a natural aversion to mess, especially the kinds made in the kitchen. But, consider letting go this holiday season. Why? It's now recognized that kids benefit from baking and cooking in many ways, and fussing over the mess they make while learning is a sure way to dampen their enthusiasm. Look at it this way: it's why brooms, dustpans and cleaning products were invented.

Lose your fear of failure.

Adults are somewhat conditioned to strive for perfection. Whether at work, home or play, there is often an underlying fear that less-than-perfect amounts to failure, and comparison to the efforts of others makes it much worse. Home bakers face this all the time. But, this is what's so great about baking with kids! They have yet to associate less-than-perfect with failure.

Remember that you're not aiming to create professional food stylists here. So, use the 50/50 rule when baking with them: assume that 50% of your product will be presentable, and let the rest be what we'll call the result of the fun and messy creative process.

Baking with kids is one activity that you can truly call "quality time". So, this season, turn Halloween into an opportunity to introduce the kids in your life to the joy of baking. It's a great creative outlet for both of you. Happy Baking!