The end of school year is approaching fast. I know right, how did we get here already?
Schools, preschools and kindy’s will soon start putting out notes asking what you’re going to provide for the class Christmas party. Before you put your name down for candy canes, M&M’s, chips etc, I wanted to share some ideas for fun healthy food for school Christmas parties. Food that the kids will love, and it will nourish their bodies too.
Now before anyone pounces on me saying “It’s Christmas, let the kids be kids”, I just want to say I love Christmas. In fact, if you ask my family, they’ll tell you I am a Christmas Nut. But I have 2 things to share with you:
ONE
Remember, you’re the one who has to deal with the consequences of what food they eat at the party. You’re the one who has to take them home, not the teacher or other parents. There will be heaps of packaged processed food on offer, so you providing fun healthy food will help provide a balance;
TWO
Christmas is a fun time, a time to celebrate but:
Celebrating Christmas with real food is a great way to educate and empower kids to understand real food can be FUN and DELICIOUS.
Does this mean I am saying don’t have any of the usual Christmas fan fare – pavlovas, ice cream, lollies etc? No, all I am suggesting is leave sending that to the other parents (there will be plenty of that), and instead you send in some fun and delicious real food.
1. Grinch Kabobs
A little bit naughty but mostly nice, these kabobs are so cute that I am sure kids will find them hard to resist. So simple, just assemble a green grape, sliced banana, hulled strawberry and a small marshmallow onto a cocktail skewer. I found this idea over at nourishingminimalism.com about 3 years ago and I’ve made them every year since. They are always a hit! Check out nourishing minimalism for loads of great ideas on how you can declutter your life in so many ways.
2. Watermelon Christmas Trees
Watermelon has to be one of the most loved fruits around. A knife, chopping and a watermelon is all you need for this. Simply cut watermelon into triangle wedges. Cut a little bit of green off both sides of the bottom, leaving the middle in tact as the tree trunk. Check out Cooker and Looker where I got this idea from. She has loads of great simple family recipes and other cool blogs about family life on a farm.
3. Strawberry Cheesecake Santas
I just found these today as I was researching real food for the Christmas Classroom. I found these over at blogger and recipe developer Laura Fuentes website. I will definitely be trying these out this year. Not only do they sound yum, but they are simple enough you can get the kids involved too.
4. Edible Christmas Tree
I do have to say I tried to make this for one of our Christmas Parties a couple of years ago and it was a bit like those “nailed it” pictures you see. It made for a great Christmas laugh and got eaten. The end result was this real food was not only delicious but fun because it made everyone laugh. Give it a whirl though, you may have more style in the kitchen than me. I discovered this across on my wonderful friend Sonia from Natural New Age Mum‘s blog about Edible Christmas Trees. There are another 12 ideas over there so be sure to check it out.
5. Caramel Popcorn
Ok so caramel popcorn is not necessarily a real food but it’s much better than the caramel popcorn you’ll buy at the shops. This recipe is additive, preservative and fructose Free. When I am organising parties for our family, I usually try to have plates of real food (fruit, vegetables and dips, something savoury I have made, and food like this popcorn which is considered to be the sugary dish – even though it’s not. Visually when the kids look at the table, they see all the goodness and the popcorn – they don’t ever feel like the food is boring.
And you know I always like to give you a parting message as a thank you for making it this far down.
You’re NOT weird or awful for sending real food to school this Christmas. You’re helping empower kids to realise real food is fun and delicious. Stand tall and proud, that’s a wonderful gift you’ve just given every child in the class.