Christmas menu ideas to delight children

For many people Christmas Day dinner is the best meal of the year. Children, however, do not always like a traditional turkey meal. We would like to give you some tips on how to tweak the usual feast so that it is more appealing to children, and also offer alternative ideas for children who refuse to eat the normal festive fare. We hope that your children will love our tasty recipe ideas.

A modified turkey dinner to suit children’s tastes

Sometimes children find turkey too dry and do not like its taste. An obvious alternative is to cook chicken instead. You could roast simple chicken breast or, since it is Christmas, you might prefer to create something a bit fancier. With its ham and cheese, chicken cordon bleu is sure to please little ones. Or, you could make garlic chicken en croute. For this, you just need to spread garlic butter on to chicken breasts and then wrap them in puff pastry. To create a professional look, you can cut the pastry into strips and lay them on the top of the chicken. For a healthier touch that children will still enjoy, you can make homemade chicken tenders. All you have to do is coat chicken strips in plain yoghurt, roll them in porridge oats and parmesan cheese, spray them with oil and then cook them in the oven.  A simple yet tasty recipe. 

Encourage your little children  to eat the traditional side dishes the rest of the family will eat. This will save you a lot of time and effort, and it is entirely possible that your little ones will like the flavours on offer. For instance, many children will enjoy the little sausages wrapped in bacon. To encourage them to eat vegetables, instead of boiling them, drizzle honey over some root vegetables like carrots and parsnips and roast them. Children will love the sweet flavours, and all the family can enjoy them. Even Brussels sprouts can be popular if you sauté them with garlic instead of boiling them. 

Christmas dinner with an Italian twist

If your children are not fans of chicken or are particularly fussy, then serving Italian food is a good option. After all, who does not like pizza? Instead of serving a frozen pizza, you could make a simple base yourself and top it with your children’s favourite toppings. To make it especially festive, use Christmas tree cutters to cut the pizza dough into Christmas tree shapes. Children will take great delight eating Christmas tree pizzas! 

Old favourites like lasagne and pasta carbonara will also please most children and adults.

Delightful desserts that will make children cheer

If your children think that Christmas pudding is disgusting, then there are many other sweet treats that they will love instead. Ice cream cakes, for instance, can be purchased in some supermarkets, and you can order them in most ice cream shops. Imagine children’s joy when you cut into a cake made entirely out of ice cream. 

Cheesecake is also usually a hit amongst children, and there are an endless number of flavours. For a chocolate flavour, consider a Ferrero Rocher one. Or for a sweet but fruity one, try making a white chocolate and raspberry cheesecake.

By preparing delicious main courses they will enjoy and special treats for dessert, you will make Christmas even more memorable and special for your children. Why not give some of these ideas a try? Your children will be thankful you did.