Decorating cookies with kids (and, achem, keeping it fun but sane)

Want to include your children in cookie decorating…but having a hard time getting excited about crunching around the kitchen on spilled sugars and sprinkles afterwards? A couple of ideas:

Give each child a rimmed baking sheet as their own little work space;

Spreading frosting with a knife can be frustrating for little ones. I fill a sandwich zip-loc with frosting, and then cut a tiny bit of the corner off, making them their own “pastry bag”;

Pouring sprinkles into small ramekins lets children to grab a little pinch of decorations. Whether your child decides to dump the whole ramekin on a cookie is up to them.

Click here for my favorite gingerbread and sugar cookies, both perfect for decorating.