Are you buying gifts for any littles this year? My little guy isn’t quite old enough to help much in the kitchen, but cooking projects and food preparation work were some of my favorite things to watch the children work on when I was teaching in a Montessori school.
Helping in the kitchen is great for concentration and fine motor skills, and can also help kids get excited about eating different kinds of foods.
If you have a little one on your Christmas list, here are some fun kitchen tool ideas, perfect for tiny hands. These are generally appropriate for 3-5 year olds, but of course watch your own child for readiness.
Wavy Chopper This lets children as young as three help chop things like carrots or cucumbers.
Mini Pizza Pans How fun would these be for family pizza nights?
Egg Slicer
Banana Slicer This is definitely not a kitchen essential, but can be fun if you have a child who regularly eats bananas. After they slice them, they can spread them with nut butter using their own little spreader – there are tons of fun ones
Mini Potato Masher This is perfect for helping with the mashed potatoes or sweet potatoes for holiday dinners, but it would also work well for making guacamole.
Cherry Pitter This was one of the most beloved food prep works in the class where I taught.
Apple Slicer Some little ones do not yet have the muscle strength to use this on their own yet, but older four year olds or five year olds are often successful with it.
Egg Beater This would be fun for letting your child help with holiday baking. Handheld mixers like this can also be used for bubble making – all you need is a mixing bowl, water, and a few drops of dish soap.
Spice Grinder
Mini Grater These little graters are great for letting your little one help with taco night.
I always love the For Small Hands site for kids’ kitchen tools (and so many other things…) as well.
Do you do stockings in your family?
They’re one of my favorite parts of Christmas!
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