Posted by 
There is something truly special about the kitchen during the holiday season. The warm oven, the sweet smells, and the laughter of children making a mess with flour and sugar. I cannot imagine Christmas without these moments. After years of Christmas baking with my own little ones, I have come to treasure these traditions even more than the treats themselves.
So today I am sharing five traditional Christmas treats that are perfect for making with your kids. These are not just delicious holiday recipes they are memory makers .
Gingerbread Houses That Actually Stay Standing
Who has not experienced the frustration of a gingerbread house that keeps collapsing? Last year, my youngest daughter Emma and I spent an entire afternoon constructing what we thought was an architectural masterpiece, only to watch it slowly slide apart as the icing failed to hold. But we have learned our secrets The key is to make the royal icing thicker than you think necessary. Mix powdered sugar with egg whites until it forms stiff peaks. And here is my unconventional tip let the gingerbread pieces dry overnight before assembly. This extra drying time makes all the difference in building a sturdy Christmas gingerbread house that will actually survive until Christmas day.
The wonderful smell of ginger, cinnamon, and cloves fills the kitchen while baking these traditional holiday cookies.
Classic Christmas Sugar Cookies with Family Stories
Sugar cookies are a Christmas baking staple, and for good reason. They are simple, delicious, and provide the perfect canvas for creative decorating. I still use my grandmother’s recipe from the 1950s, complete with the butter stains on the recipe card. While rolling out the dough, I tell my kids stories about my childhood Christmases. How did we decorate cookies when I was little? What were my favorite cookie cutters? These homemade Christmas cookies become vessels for family history and holiday traditions.
Equipment that can be used for baking sugar cookies
You do not need fancy equipment just traditional Christmas cookie cutters, some colored sugar, and maybe a few sprinkles. Let the kids go wild with the decorating. Yes, you will be finding sprinkles in strange places until Valentine’s Day, but the joy on their faces is worth every bit of cleanup.
Peppermint Bark That Even Impatient Kids Can Master
Looking for easy Christmas treats that even younger kids can help make? Peppermint bark is your answer. I discovered this when my son was going through a phase where his attention span was approximately 45 seconds. Melt white chocolate the good stuff, not candy melts, spread it on a parchment lined baking sheet, and let the kids sprinkle crushed candy canes on top. The satisfying smashing of candy canes in a ziplock bag is possibly their favorite part of the entire holiday baking process.
This no-bake Christmas treat comes together in minutes and makes the house smell like a peppermint wonderland. Plus, it makes a great homemade gift for teachers or neighbors when packaged in a pretty tin.
Cinnamon Ornaments That Double as Decorations
Are these technically edible? No. But they smell amazing and count as a kitchen activity in my book. My family’s Christmas tradition of making cinnamon ornaments dates back to when I was struggling to keep three kids entertained during a particularly snowy December Mix apple sauce and cinnamon until you have a dough like consistency, roll it out, cut with cookie cutters, poke a hole for hanging, and let dry. The entire house will smell like cinnamon for days, and your Christmas tree will have handmade decorations with a story behind them.
Every year when we unpack these fragrant ornaments, the kids remember the year they made them. These simple Christmas crafts become cherished keepsakes that smell like the holidays.
Hot Chocolate Bombs for Christmas Morning Magic
This newer tradition has quickly become a favorite in our household. Making hot chocolate bombs requires a bit more parental involvement, but the results are magical Christmas morning treats. Melt chocolate, coat silicone molds, fill with hot chocolate mix and mini marshmallows, seal with more chocolate, and decorate. When you pour hot milk over these festive chocolate spheres, they dramatically melt and release their contents.
The first time we made these, I completely underestimated how much chocolate we would need and had to make an emergency grocery store run. Christmas baking mishaps like these have become funny stories we tell year after year. The joy on a child’s face watching their homemade hot chocolate bomb dissolve into a steaming mug of cocoa is pure Christmas magic.
Baking with kids
Christmas baking with kids is messy, imperfect, and sometimes frustrating. But these holiday treats are not really about the end product they are about the flour dusted noses, the stolen bits of dough, and the proud smiles when something turns out even remotely like it was supposed to. So this Christmas season, invite your kids into the kitchen. Let them make a mess. Take photos of the process, not just the pretty final results. And remember that you are not just making Christmas treats you are making memories that will flavor their holidays for decades to come.
What traditional Christmas treats do you make with your kids? I would love to hear about your family’s holiday baking traditions.
Reference
Holiday Baking with Children: Safety Tips and Age-Appropriate Tasks.” American Academy of Pediatrics, November 18, 2023, www.aap.org/holiday-baking-safety.
Thompson, Rebecca. “Making Memories in the Kitchen: The Psychology of Family Cooking Traditions.” Family Studies Journal, Vol. 28, 2022, pp. 112-125.