Cookie Decorating Party For Kids

Yesterday, I hosted 14 children to decorate Christmas
cookies. There was an ocean of icing, and mountains of sprinkles- a
crazy, sugar fueled chaos. This type of event is one of those
things I’ve grown skilled at over the years and sometimes I wonder
if there will be any use for this on my resume once the kids are
gone. Here’s a “How-To” for hosting a cookie decorating event: 1.
Understand that most of the cookies will look outrageous to an
adult eye once completed. 2. Understand that most kids will
immediately eat everything they decorate. (I only had two kids take
a cookie home.) 3. It will help to have one other (experienced) mom
there to assist. My friend Jetza, who has four kids, was my partner
in the sugar fiasco. She’s a powerhouse. I’m never afraid with
Jetza by my side. 4. Cover the table in a paper cloth. I bought a
huge roll of this at GFS a long time ago and use it for everything.
I just roll out what I need, cut it off, and secure it to the
underside of the table with tape. Afterwards, I roll the whole mess
up and throw it in the trash. 5. Other supplies: 1. Small paper
plates 2. Napkins 3. Small cups for distribution of icing and for
water (because eating a cup of icing can make a kid thirsty.) 4.
Disposable pastry bags. We searched online for the best deal. They
came in a roll. 5. Plastic pastry decorating tips. Again, we found
a great deal online and I’ll reuse them many times. 6. Tub of white
pre-prepared icing from GFS. I think it was about a three pound
tub. I bought two. 7. GFS pre-cut holiday sugar cookie dough
assortment. There are 72 cookies in a box. The three shapes are
bell, star, and Christmas tree. I think I paid 9.99. You just pop
them in the oven and bake. Easy and yummy too. 8. Sprinkles and
colored sugar. I bought some from GFS to add to others I had on
hand. 9. Food coloring. I like Wilton’s paste food coloring,
especially their “No-Taste Red”. 10. Plastic knives. Some kids like
to spread the icing. 6. Before coloring the icing, beat in some
powdered sugar to firm it a bit. Then, color as desired and load
into the pastry bags with the tips. 7. Put some white icing out in
little cups. 8. Put it all on the table and hang on…It is only
really crazy for about 30 minutes. (The crazy factor is directly
impacted by the number of boys present. I had a lot of boys…) 9.
For those kids who opt to take a cookie home, place it on one of
the paper plates, write their name on the edge in Sharpie, and
cover with plastic wrap. Have fun!