3 Ways to Get the Kids Involved in Your Christmas Party Prep

There's no shortage of excuses for having a party around Christmas. But what with drinks and nibbles, family lunches, brunch parties and pre-Christmas dinners, it can be hard work! So what better way to celebrate than getting the little ones (and not-so-little ones) involved? Not only is it less work for you, but there's something lovely about putting their creativity and imagination at the heart of your celebrations.

The Food​

Food is one of the easiest (not to mention the most fun) ways to get them involved. Christmas should be all about treaty, nibble-y things that look and taste delightful, and luckily enough this is the type of food kids love making.

Cake pops might look intimidating, but they're really easy—just buy pre-made cake, and smoosh it together with melted chocolate, dried fruit, nuts or jam, press into a cake pop mould, cover with icing and voila! You've got a spectacular treat that's a cinch to make, but that guests will love. And our icing pen means the little ones can customise each pop with festive swirls, stars and squiggles.

If you're hosting a drinks party, let them create colourful ice cubes by adding cranberries, sprigs of rosemary or food colouring to our festive ice cube tray.

Every kid loves making sandwiches—or at least they will do when you give them bowls of festive fillings like turkey and cranberry sauce, smoked salmon and cream cheese or herbed cheese and crushed walnuts for veggies, and then use sandwich cutters to make them into fun little squares and shapes.

And how about chocolate rice krispie or cornflake cakes, which look cute in a Christmas tree shaped mould, sprinkled with sweets for lights and icing for tinsel?

Apart from food, why not unleash their creativity by letting them write up the menu for your party? It's easy with a wipe-clean chalkboard.

Even better, let them create their own hot chocolate station; they can write the ingredients on the chalkboard and then use colourful bowls to store sprinkles, whipped cream, marshmallows, chocolate chips and even peanut butter, all for stirring into hot chocolate. Just make sure that there's an adult supervising and serving out the hot chocolate!

The Settings

If you're having a sit-down meal, then table settings are where your kids can really get involved. These pens write on glass—why not let your children draw your guest's initials on their glasses, or on plain glass baubles in front of each plate?

Then there's the centrepiece. As mentioned, a homemade wreath looks lovely, but you might want to indulge their creativity further by using a cake stand and letting them layer it up with baubles, tinsel, trinkets and little presents and placing it in the middle of the table. 

The Décor

This is one element of parties that extra help and imagination always come in handy! Take a plain or LED Christmas wreath and, using string, spend time with them customising it with baubles, glittery ribbons or twigs and little decorations. It'll look charming on your front door when the guests arrive.

Then there's the classic DIY decorations we all know and love, like paper chains and paper snowflakes (add a sprinkling of glitter to make them extra special), which actually look a bit better the more homemade and rough around the edges they are. It's not about looking pristine, but about letting your little ones get in the festive spirit! 

Whatever idea you choose, it's hard to deny that when it comes to hosting parties, getting the kids involved means the prep can be as much fun as the party itself! Shop our baking and Christmas decoration sections for more fab ideas.