Alright gang, let’s talk Christmas finger desserts for the kiddos! Wanted something fun where they could actually help, not just watch. Honestly, Pinterest felt overwhelming at first – so many fancy pictures, y’know? Needed stuff actually doable by little hands without burning the house down.
The Brainstorm & Shopping Dash
Scratched my head thinking what they’d like and could actually do. Chocolate? Always a yes. Fruit? Maybe sneak some in. Cookie decorating? Kid magnet. Finally settled on three simple winners: Chocolate-Covered Marshmallow Snowmen, Strawberry Santas, and Mini Gingerbread Cookie Men.
Dusted off the trusty marker, grabbed an old envelope and scribbled down:
- Big marshmallows
- Chocolate chips (dark & white)
- Strawberries (nice pointy ones for Santa hats!)
- Cream cheese frosting
- Mini gingerbread men cookies (bakery section, ain’t nobody got time to bake those from scratch today!)
- Sprinkles! (Christmas shapes, red/green, little balls)
- Mini chocolate chips (for eyes & buttons)
- Small candies (tic-tacs looked good for Santa arms)
Herded the kids into the car – “We’re going on a dessert ingredient adventure!” Hit the supermarket. Kids zeroed in on the sprinkles aisle like missiles. “Can we get THESE sparkly unicorn ones, Mom?” “…Sure, why not, it’s Christmas.” Budget slightly blown on sparkles. Happens.
Setting Up Camp Mess… I Mean, Kitchen
Cleared the dining table – easier cleanup than the kitchen counters. Laid down some parchment paper, big baking sheets. Got out:
- Small microwave-safe bowls (for melting chocolate)
- Spoons (lots!)
- Toothpicks
- Piping bag (or snip the corner off a Ziplock later for frosting)
- Paper towels (Oh boy, we’d need these)
Divided the troops: Little one (3 years old) got marshmallow snowman decorating duty. Older one (6) took Strawberry Santas and Cookie decorating. We is ready to roll!
The Fun (and Sticky) Part Begins
First up, Chocolate Snowmen:
- Poured dark chocolate chips into a bowl, nuked in 20-second bursts, stirred like crazy each time until smooth. Did the same with white chocolate chips in another bowl. Supervised that microwave like a hawk!
- Showed the little one how to stick a toothpick in a marshmallow. She dipped it into the dark chocolate, swirled it around clumsily (chocolate everywhere), plopped it onto the parchment paper.
- Handed her white chocolate to drizzle over the top for “snow hats”. More splattering than drizzling. Totally fine! Sprinkled sprinkles IMMEDIATELY before the chocolate set. Mini chocolate chips pressed in for eyes and buttons. Stick two mini marshmallows together with chocolate for the body? Yeah, attempted… became more of abstract marshmallow blobs. Still cute! Stuck ’em in the fridge to set.
Meanwhile, Strawberry Santas with the 6-year-old:
- Washed and dried strawberries together. Cut the green tops off flat. Cut a tiny bit off the pointy end to make the “hat” tip.
- Plonked some cream cheese frosting into a Ziplock, snipped a tiny corner off. Kid squeezed a dollop onto the flat base of a strawberry. Stuck the pointy tip on top for the hat. Looked legit!
- She piped a little frosting “pom-pom” on the hat tip and a tiny dot for the face. Pressed on mini chocolate chips for eyes. Used tiny red candy balls (the tic-tac like things) for arms. Bit fiddly, but she concentrated hard! Refrigerated these guys too.
Finally, Mini Gingerbread Cookie Men:
- Plated the store-bought mini gingerbread men.
- Mixed some colored frosting – red and green.
- Gave each kid spoons and bowls of frosting. “Go wild! Make Christmas sweaters!” Spoons became frosting spreaders/weapons. Sprinkles rained down. Some cookies looked like they’d been in a glitter explosion. Pure joy.
The Semi-Sweet Grand Finale
Took the chilled desserts out. Marshmallows looked… creative. Santas were adorable, even if slightly melted. Gingerbread men were psychedelic masterpieces.
Plated them all together on a big festive tray. Kids puffed out their chests – “WE MADE THIS!” Tasted them – messy, sweet, and undeniably fun.
Was the kitchen a disaster zone? Oh yeah. Sticky fingers, sprinkles in hair, chocolate smears. Was it worth it? Absolutely. They beamed, they created, they helped. That’s the whole Christmas spirit, packed into finger-sized desserts. Next time? Maybe bibs. Definitely bibs.
