The Doughboy's Favorite Place to Put Kids in Charge: Kids' Cookie Tray

Being a kid can feel a lot like traveling second-class—they order from the kids’ menu, they sit at the kids’ table, they have to raise their hand a lot or clean their room whenever Mom or Dad says so. There are a lot of rules to follow and life isn’t always easy when you’re a kid. Sometimes, they just want to be in charge for once!

The Doughboy knows one place where they can take the lead: making a kids’ cookie tray for Christmas gatherings. It doesn’t have to be fancy: just a few festive shapes, lots of icing and sprinkles, maybe some chocolate (okay, definitely some chocolate), and a chance for little hands to create something they’re proud of without any grown-ups telling them what to do.

So help your littles tie their apron strings, roll up their sleeves and let them get to work making a kid-friendly cookie tray that’s all their own. They’ll have fun breaking the rules (just this once) and you’ll love seeing their beaming faces when they set their creations out on the coffee table for guests to enjoy. Sure, you might be sweeping up sprinkles for days—but you’ll also make sweet memories that will last forever.

From candy-dipped sugar cookie sticks to super-simple melted snowman cookies, we have endless kid-friendly treat ideas for your munchkins to add to their cookie trays this season.

We get it—giving little ones free reign of the kitchen sounds like the makings of a total mess, to put it mildly. But with a few easy kid-proofing tricks, you can make cookie decorating fun and still super kid-friendly!