How to Cook with a Grandchild for the Best Holidays

For the first time in five years, I missed my weekly post deadline. Steve and I returned from a month-long trip to Japan (see my images of our travel to Japan) and both of us took quite ill. So, there was no post last week.

Now that we’re on the road to recovery, I’m looking forward to cooking with a grandchild for Thanksgiving dinner. Miss T, who is now eleven, has been helping out since she was nine. This is a lovely bonding time for us.

How to Cook with a Grandchild: Start Early

To have such a willing and capable helper starts at the toddler stage. We predisposed Miss T to be interested in cooking by providing culinary toys. She had a wonderful kitchen set–a stove and oven that she played with constantly, as well as a set of stainless steel cooking pots and pans. She also had a wide variety of play foods.

• If you’re on a budget, make a stove from an upside-down cardboard carton. Just draw the burners and oven door with a thick marker. Kids have great imaginations.
• Cut out pictures of food from old magazines and glue them to cardboard for sturdiness. Give kids paper plates and plastic utensils to “cook” with.
• In warm weather, have kids enjoy water play by pretend cooking with all your kitchen equipment.

Great Tips for Cooking Thanksgiving with a Grandchild

As a preschooler, Miss T was encouraged to make her own snacks. Cooking teaches kids about process–they learn that following instructions, step-by-step, leads to a tasty reward. I like to start them with deviled eggs. As they get older, we use recipes to hone reading and math skills.

How to Cook with a Grandchild: Nurture their Interest

Once Miss T showed an interest in cooking, we explored the wide range of possibilities of what she could make.

• We made mini pizzas from scratch when Miss T was almost three.
• We made soda bread for St. Patrick’s Day after preschool.

• During the pandemic, we made a strawberry dessert on FaceTime. If you and your grandchild are geographically apart, it’s a project to consider.
• When she was eight, we prepared food for a tea party and invited her mom as our guest. Like society ladies, we wore fascinators that we had made from cake cardboard, fabric, and flowers.

For more projects to cook with a grandchild, check out Grandma Food. Since posts are listed chronologically, scroll backwards to find cooking suggestions for little ones.

If your Grandchild isn’t Experienced in Cooking

While Miss T has had a lot of practice in cooking. If your grandchild has not, but wants to help for a holiday party this year, encourage their participation.

If you’re introducing this activity for the first time, check out my tips for cooking a holiday meal with your grandchild. For example, you’ll want to give yourself plenty of time because an inexperienced child will slow you down.

• Assign kids make-ahead dishes. That way, you’re not stressed, wondering if the child can finish in time for dinner.
• For example, tossed salads (keep dressing separate until mealtime), a dip for vegetables, arranging a charcuterie plate, assembling the green bean casserole, or shaping dinner rolls are good ways they can help.

• Do not give a beginner a cooking assignment or one that requires using a knife. Even making a simple cranberry sauce can be dangerous because of the hot sugar syrup and popping cranberries. Also, kids who don’t have proper knife skills will need constant supervision during a time when you’re busiest.

My Best Thanksgiving Tablesetting Tips

How to Prep for Cooking with a Grandchild

From when she was a very young, Miss T loved to help. No matter what I was doing, she’d want to pitch in, too.

This year, she wants to do some real cooking and she’s ready for it. She knows how to use a knife safely and she has cooked over a hot stove. I will still keep an eye on her.

Instead of assigning her a few easy recipes, I think I’ll put together some recipe suggestions and we can plan the menu together. This is a good time to teach menu composition–how to consider a range of colors, textures, and flavors to make a harmonious and delicious celebratory meal.

It’s also a time we can evaluate recipes. We can read a recipe and try to anticipate how it will taste, and if the instructions are clear and make sense, to determine if the recipe is worthy of our time and effort.

We’ll cook Wednesday afternoon after school though Thursday (she’ll spend the night) and set the table together before the family comes for dinner. This is a unique, grandma and grandchild time that I hope will be a memory for her through many Thanksgivings to come.

Next Week: Thanksgiving Crafts for Kids

Not every child is old enough, capable enough, or interested enough to be your cooking partner. So next week, we’ll look at crafts kids can make to participate in Thanksgiving festivities.

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