I'm looking for a fun snack for a group of preschoolers to make during a holiday party at school. It has to come from "prepackaged, unopened" items from the grocery store and be Peanut-free. Any suggestions for something they could do themselves with a little help??
www.familyfun.com search for Santa Grahams. Using graham crackers, frosting, marshmallows you make santa faces.
J.,
Try wheat mini bagels and cream cheese. The children in my class love the strawberry cream cheese. We just open the bagels and have the children spread the cream cheese with a plastic butter knife.
You can make "snowmen" from large and small marshmallows and pretzel sticks. Thread a large one on a pretzel stick then another then a small one. That's the body then break a stick in 1/2 and there's your arms. You can call it done or get a little risky and use deco-frosting for eyes and buttons.
you could do this with cream cheese instead of peanut butter.
http://www.kraftfoods.com/kf/recipes/lions-tigers-bears--...
i love kraftfoods.com ...you may want to just look through their site for ideas. put in the search "carrot pinwheels" those would be fun too.
Okay, you have some great ideas here, and mine isn't very festive, but it's fun! When I worked with preschoolers (and even older kids) we loved to make our own butter. All you do in put some whipping cream in any jar with a screw top (mason jar, baby food, even those ziplock screw top plastic things work) and shake it until it becomes butter. I made up a little song about making butter and they had to sing the song while shaking it and then pass it to the next person. Depending on how many people there are it takes between 10-20 minutes. Then we would spread it on saltines or graham crackers or bread. You could also have some jelly to go on top too! You may want to add salt if you don't use saltines, though, or, my personal favorite, is to add some honey right at the end and stir it up...tastes delish! Even if you don't use it for the party, it's a fun and easy back up!
Take an ice cream sugar cone and place it upside down. Butter it with green icing (pilsbury makes some) and then decorate the "tree" with ornaments (aka peanut free candy). Not sure if the cone's are peanut free, you'd have to check the brands.
I am not certain how much time you have, but I used to make Monkey Bread with my preschoolers. You take 3-4 cans of cheap biscuits (not jumbos) & help the children to cut them into quarters (or close) with scissors. Then they get to roll them in a cinnamon/sugar mixture. You then put them in a pan. Melt a little butter to add to the cinnamon/sugar mixture. Drizzle this over the biscuits. (Make sure they are covered, but not drenched) Bake 1015 minutes & they're done.
Hmm...I'll be watching this post too! I'm running out of ideas! (I always liked graham crackers with a bit of cream cheese icing, but it's a sweet treat rather than a healthy snack!)
The whole peanut allergy thing has made it REALLY difficult!
I totally understand all the "peanut free" rules...it's life or death for some of these kids! But peanut butter on anything was always my "emergency go-to protein snack" when I was younger!
Isnt it sad that we live in a world where we need to worry about "pre-packaged items" for parties??? That being said...how about letting them make their own trail mix??? You could take in unopened packages of M&Ms, mini marshmallows,raisins, chex cereal,dried fruit,whatever strikes your fancy....have bowls and such for them to put them out into...and get some of those cute decorated Christmas Ziploc type bags for them to put their "creation" into.
Or...you could get plain sugar cookies from your grocery stores bakery section...and then take in different colors of tub icing...cake decorations ( the things you sprinkle on cakes) raisins, m&ms,maybe some of those cute ready made cake toppers ( holiday ones...santas...trees...etc) that you can buy on the baking aisle...and let them make their own cookies.
I would also suggest doing a search online to see what other ideas are out there in cyberspace....I am sure that other mothers have faced the same dilemna and have probably come up with some really great ideas.
Good luck and Merry Christmas!!!
Ok, I just came up with this idea...why not get some packages of Oreos, some mini m & ms, fruit roll ups, and the Wilton white icing that comes in bottles that look like glue (they are back in the cake decorating section of walmart)...then the kids can glue the Oreos together, glue the m&ms onto the oreos for buttons and eyes and cut the fruit roll ups into hats and carrot noses. VOILA, instant snowman!
Last year, I premade gingerbread boys and girls for the kids and got the glue bottle icing (1 per table) and took in all the candies and let them decorate their own gingerbread kids. They had a TON of fun with it! And of course had plenty fun eating all the extra candy at the table! LOL
I'm personally making reindeer for my son's class with Nutter Butters, pretzels, and m & m's but no one in his class has a peanut allergy.
graham crackers are very good and healthy-- you can use either the cream cheese--and that is healthy and has calcium and protein-- or you can use apple butter or yes fluff--and that is more sugary--but its not like they are going to eat it every day! then you can get some saisins to decorate it and other things--like the fruit roll ups can make it look like a pizza even--have fun and enjoy
Sugar cokies form the store's bakery, buy icing from the can (pillsbury, duncan Hines, etc), and sprinkles are the way to go!!! they can spread it with a craft (popsicle) stick, and you have a craft and snack all in one!
Pretzels are always a good healthy choice. Also help with the peanut free snack.
You can let them decorate their own "snowman." You can use any peanut-free cookie such as Nabisco Oatmeal cookies or Nilla Wafers (these are smaller and will be somewhat more difficult for little fingers to master decorating). You can use Hunts Vanilla Pudding as the icing or for a little less mess try Go-Gurt Portable Yogurt (squeezable yogurt). Then to decorate the face, try Sun-Maid raisins for the eyes and mouth and the tiny baby carrots for the nose. They have small packages of tiny baby carrots, not the regular baby carrots that should fit. Beware that icing a cookie with yogurt can get messy, so I would supply a stack of paper plates for easy clean up as well.
Just make sure to check the packaging on the items to ensure that these items are still peanut-free since things change over time.
Also, the following link contains a list of peanut-free snacks that I found online to give you some more ideas:
http://www.u-46.org/healthservices/NutandPeanutAllergies.htm
Graham crackers and frosting with m and m's or peppermints or something to stick in the frosting, if you aren't looking for healthy.
I make "lollipops" for my son with string cheese and pretzel sticks. Cut one piece of string cheese into 8 pieces, and push in a pretzel stick - little lollipops!
You could also use the big marshmallows and pretzel sticks to hold them together to make snowmen. A little white icing and some mini M&M's or mimi chocolate chips for the eyes...let them decorate their own.
Grahm cracker ginger bread house. 4 grams, broken in half make a square house (not one with a pointed roof). Stick together with store bought icing and give M&M's or gummies to decorate.
How about celery,cream cheese and raisins. AKA ants on a long.
Why don't you let them make chex mix using maybe cherrios, teddy grahams, stuff like that.
If the preschoolers are actually the ones that get to have the fun....Then a quick and easy one. Graham crackers and cake icing. Put a little icing in a dixie cup give them a plastic knive and some graham crackers. Show them how to do one and then let them do it.
Not only is it fun, they get a sweet treat, but they are also learning how to use a butter knife.... My 3 1/2 year old's Church class just did this last week & they had FUN!
My son has a peanut allergy, so I know all about the peanut free stuff. I have taken individual packaged fruit. Most stores carry apples or grapes. Fruit snacks, or fruit roll ups are a good alternative also. Individual packages of oreos work also. You may want to check with the school to see how strict they are on the items being "pre-packaged", that will broaden your choices. Our school will allow things to not be pre-packaged as long as we follow strict sanitary guidelines. Wearing gloves, etc. Most pretzels have been produced with peanut items so they are out of the question unless you go to a store that has an organic or specialty foods section. If you can find the Newman's pretzels, they are safe and my son loves them. I don't think they come individually packaged though.
What about ice cream sundaes? There are individual packs and they can add whipped cream, chocolate etc......
I have also done Jello in the packs with whipped cream and sprinkles.
Good luck.
