Holiday activity: Cookie decorating with kids

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Holiday activity: Cookie decorating with kids

Christina

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The kids are out of school and counting down the seconds until Santa makes his big appearance. Why not keep them busy with a fun and tasty holiday activity... cookie decorating! These tools and ideas will make cookie decorating easy for the kids and enjoyable for you. Make sure you bake and decorate a few extra for Santa!

Mom making Christmas cookies with kids

Kid-friendly cookie decorating

Cookie decorating will never be the same once you get the Williams Sonoma Kids Cookie and Cupcake Decorating Kit ($20). This kit makes your child feel like a pro cookie decorator -- thanks to the no-mess, squeezable icing bottles. The kit also comes with recipes, an instruction book and interchangeable stainless-steel icing tips that come in four designs: round, leaf, star and basketweave.

To easily create outlines, words and detailed designs, use colored decorating pens ($3 each). With these icing tubes, you can skip the hassle of messy pastry bags and get your lines, dots, outlines and lettering right every time. Decorating pens are not only extremely easy for kids to use, they are the best way to quickly set the outline of your cookies in preparation to flood.

Learn how to flood cookies: Brightly colored leaf sugar cookies >>

Decorating ideas

The details and amount of time that you spend on decorating your cookies depend on the age and ability of your child. Here is a wide range of decorating ideas to consider.

Christmas ornaments: Bake round sugar cookies and decorate them as if they are an ornament for your tree.
Christmas colors: Using red, green and white icing, ice your cookie with one color and then decorate it with dots, lines and shapes.
Lettering: Use kid-friendly, icing-filled squeeze bottles or decorating pens to spell out simple words: Joy, Wish, Christmas, Noel and Merry.
Images: With a decorating pen or icing bottle, draw the shape of a Christmas tree, Christmas wreath, snowman face or Santa hat.
Cookie cutters: Make Christmas trees, gingerbread men, snowmen and candy canes with cookie cutters and then decorate each one with icing and festive sprinkles.
Simple decorating: Use sanding sugar, decorating spray or a painted technique for easy cookie decorating.

Painted sugar cookies >>

Easy cookie decorating tips for kids

Cheese or appetizer knives make spreading icing easy for kids.
Toothpicks are a great way to blend and mix icing while decorating a cookie.
Add a few drops of water at a time to make thick icing easier to work with.
For younger children or for simple icing application without too many details, use empty squeeze bottles from a craft store.