5 top tips (and a recipe) to get your kids helping at Christmas

Bake Off star and psychotherapist Kim-Joy Hewlett

Christmas is a magical time of year, full of joy and celebration. As parents, we can feel a huge responsibility to make it perfect for our children so it’s easy to feel overwhelmed at times.

Great British Bake Off star, baker and former psychological wellbeing practitioner Kim-Joy has some tips for getting children to help out over the festive period as well as a delicious mince pie reindeer biscuit recipe that parents and children can enjoy making - and eating - together!

How to get your kids in the kitchen this Christmas

One of the best ways to get kids helping at Christmas is to get them in the kitchen and make it fun by encouraging freedom and creativity. It can get messy but tidying up can be part of the fun.

Kim-Joy says, “Kids will inevitably make a mess and might get cocoa powder all over the place but that’s alright, we can clean up at the end. They may get things wrong but that's also alright - they'll learn as they go. It’s more about the experience of making the food and having fun rather than the outcome itself.”

“When coming up with ideas for my recipes I often think about an animal I like or a decoration I want to incorporate and then I think of what kind of food already lends itself to that. For example, you could turn fondant fancies into little robots!

I make these from scratch - but if you don't have time to do that, you could just buy and decorate items instead. Kids love things like edible googly eyes and edible glitter - anything that they can just stick on and decorate with.”

Why not give these super cute Christmas biscuits a go with your little ones?

Kim Joy’s recipe for Mince Pie Reindeer Biscuits

a selection of reindeer mince pie biscuits decorated with reindeer faces

Kim-Joy has written cookbooks including a collection of Christmas recipes – but she’s created this exclusive recipe especially for the Parents’ Toolkit:

She says - "These are a lovely alternative to mince pies. Shortbread is tastier than shortcrust pastry because it has a higher fat content, which also marries perfectly with the sweet mincemeat filling.

"This recipe is simple and quick, so it's great for doing with your child. You just need three ingredients for the shortbread, then your mincemeat for the filling (a bit of orange zest will lift it!).

Then make the icing and just let kids go wild with the decorating! Younger kids will find edible eyes and sprinkles really fun to stick on to create faces, and you can find these in a lot of supermarkets. Serve with cream, brandy cream or custard for a lovely festive indulgence."

Want to get straight to making and baking? Scroll down for the recipe!

family at the kitchen table all looking at the turkey that their dad has presented to them

Tips for getting kids in the kitchen this Christmas

Make your own family traditions

“In my house we love having curry at Christmas!” says Kim-Joy. “We might have curry together with rice, potatoes, some Yorkshire puddings and a nut roast. I don't think I've ever actually had a ‘normal’ Christmas and it’s different every year, but that’s what makes it fun and personal to us. It’s kind of become our own tradition in that way”

Perhaps the kids could take over Christmas this year by coming up with a theme and a menu. Giving them the freedom and responsibility to ‘run’ Christmas and create their own traditions will take some of the weight off your shoulders and will be a good way to get them stuck in and helping out.

Setting the table is usually quite a mundane task but adding some creativity to it will get the kids excited to help. “They could make name cards for each person at the table and add lots of colour. They can also put up some fairy lights or be in charge of the decorations to make it feel really magical.” Kim-Joy adds.

Prepare in advance

Preparing in advance really helps to take the pressure off Christmas Day. Christmas puddings, for instance, can be made well in advance. This also allows the flavours to intensify and the colour to deepen over time. You can prepare other things in advance too like vegetables. Children can help with peeling or chopping up the seasonal veggies under supervision. The prepped veg can be put in the freezer ready to be cooked on the day.

“When I was on Bake Off it was like preparing 10 Christmases all at once! I had to try to keep myself calm in such a busy environment. The main thing I did was prepare in advance and keep organised. I wrote down times for everything and it was super regimented. Obviously in the Bake Off tent you’re purely focused on baking so you can’t be as regimented when you’re at home where something could come up at any time. So instead, you could create a loosely organised plan that doesn’t focus on perfection, but that gives you flexibility for your other responsibilities as well.” says Kim-Joy.

When it comes to grocery shopping, preparing in advance is key to making sure you don’t overspend or overbuy food, something that is easy to fall into around the festive period. Get the kids involved by asking them to help you write a shopping list, listing only the items you’ll need for each dish.

Check out some Christmas prepping tips from BBC Food.

mother and daughter baking together in the kitchen at christmas

Reward them for helping out

Christmas is a time for sharing and kindness - you can help your children to understand this by using positive reinforcement to reward them for helping.

Positive reinforcement doesn’t necessarily need to be a tangible item. You can positively reinforce a child’s behavior by praising them, giving them a high five, a hug or pat on the back, or telling someone else how proud you are whilst your child is listening. Younger children often respond well to sticker charts too. For example, for every task they help with, they’ll get a sticker. Then after five stickers they get a small reward.

It’s important to encourage and praise your child - even if the task isn’t done to your standard - and do so whilst they’re in the process of completing the task.

Kim-Joy says, “Even if they help with a really small task, make sure to thank them and tell them ‘That’s a really nice thing you did’. It makes them want to continue to help out.”

Be kind to yourself

“There’s often pressure to make Christmas absolutely amazing because you want it to be a magical time for the kids. We try to get the right presents and make it the best day ever and have this vision of what Christmas ‘should’ be like. Sometimes parents feel a huge responsibility and try to be superhuman.

It’s important to take the time to look after yourself, whether that is some quiet reading time or a bath, whatever helps you relax. Don’t be afraid to ask for help either, a problem shared is a problem halved after all.

Try to reduce the pressure on yourself and simply focus on having a good day. If things don’t go to plan, it’s ok.”

Kim Joy’s recipe for Mince Pie Reindeer Biscuits

Ingredients

For the shortbread:

150g salted butter (or use unsalted plus salt to taste)

65g caster sugar (granulated will do if there is no caster sugar about!)

200g plain flour

For the filling:

160g mincemeat

Zest of one orange (optional, but helps to elevate the flavour of shop bought mincemeat)

For the decoration:

200g icing sugar

1 egg white (or 40g pasteurised egg white)

Plus extra icing sugar/egg white to adjust the consistency

Food dye colours of your choice. (pictured is red, green, brown and black)

Optional: edible eye sprinkles, edible glitter and a selection of fun sprinkles!

Method for making the reindeer biscuits

1. Line a baking sheet (that you can fit in the fridge) with baking paper or a silicone mat.

2. Beat the butter and sugar together in a large bowl until smooth and fluffy. If the butter is room temperature this is easy to do by hand.

3. Add the flour and mix by hand until just combined, then use your hands to press it together into a ball. The dough should be slightly sticky, but soft and easy to handle.

4. Turn out on to a generously floured work surface, sprinkle additional flour on top of the dough, then roll out to about 3mm (1/4 inch) thick. Use a gingerbread man cutter or round cutters(younger kids may find the round shape easier to keep in one piece) to stamp out as many shapes as possible. Then transfer the dough to the prepared baking sheet.

5. Refrigerate for at least 15 minutes, meanwhile preheat the oven to 180C/160C (fan)/gas Mark 4.

6. Bake for 12-15 minutes until just lightly browned at the edges. Leave to cool for 10 minutes on the baking sheet, then gently transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling.

7. Grate the orange zest into the mincemeat. Stir in, then spoon this filling onto half the biscuits - sandwiching the remaining biscuits on top.

8. To decorate, first make the royal icing.

Whisk the egg white with the icing sugar until smooth and lump-free. The icing should hold a trail for about 10-15 seconds.
Add extra icing sugar/egg white as needed to adjust the consistency.
Then divide into different bowls and add food dye to colour as desired. Spoon the icing into separate piping bags, cut the tips, and use these to pipe reindeer faces.
Use the image above as a guide, or kids can make up their own unique designs and go totally off-piste here! Edible eye sprinkles and cranberries make great eyes and noses too! And edible glitter and additional sprinkles are always fun for some added sparkle.

NOTE: To make this recipe vegan, just use plant based butter (must be at least 75% fat), replace the egg white with aquafaba, and ensure your mincemeat is also plant based.