Italians Cook It Better 
From time to time we organize cookies decoration sessions at home, with my kids and their friends (I shouldn’t say so… but this make me in many case a really popular mummy among my kid’s pals).
There’s no need to be worried about the mess: you only need to enter in the messy mindset. Do not expect cleaness, quickness and perfection. It’s a kid’s activity that they have to enjoy, not a competition, in any case.
Cooking with kids could be a disastrous activity if you consider spots and fingerprints everywhere, but it will be a triumph in therms of how much it’s educational, funny and entertaining.
Moreover, if you’re organized and don’t try to take on too much, it could turn to be a very good option to spend those boring rainy winter afternoons when kids complain they do not know what to do.
Especially if they are toddlers, they might think it’s a brilliant idea to spill flour everywhere. Preparing the dough in advance will avoid children to pour flour all over the kitchen… And they will enjoy to roll out the dough, to use cookie cutters and to decorate cookies.
Get yourself many themed cookie cutters, nylon piping bags, and pin rolls. I have small wooden pin rolls that are very child-friendly and light to hold, in other words they are a perfect-size for little hands.
If you have more kids cooking together, find the right amount of fun cookie cutters: they will not fight to use them!
A good idea is to use plastic aprons to protect garments.
Prepare the icing and divide it in many little non-shattering bowls. Color each bowl with few drops of different food colors: kids will choose which one to use.
I get myself assorted sugar flowers, smarties etc… and let them in the center of the table, so that anyone could choose, use, mix and match them…
A good idea is to use some edible ink pens! they are easier that piping bags and less messy
As I told you in advance, do not expect cleaness, perfection and quickness!
If they start arguing who’s doing what, or how should do it first, just assign tasks to everybody and let them feel important and essential. They will stop quarreling!
