This year when we made christmas cookies at grandma's, even Pumpkin was included in the fun!
What you need:
-flour
-optional: cookie dough
-optional: cookie cutter
-optional but very useful: high chair
How it works:
Figuring out how to include a 13 month old was something I was initially not very optimistic about, but we worked it out. In order to include her, we put her in her high chair by our work surface. Then I sprinkled some flour on her tray. This alone was awesome to her-it's a very different texture than anything we had worked with. The area around her high chair (not to mention her face) did get pretty messy from the flour but she had so much fun.
To add to her involvement, I would take a small amount of the cookie dough, just big enough to fit the cookie cutter on, and I would press the cookie cutter into the dough, then I would slap the cookie cutter. Pumpkin always copied that part without fail. Usually several times. Then she would pick up the cookie cutter and I would grab the cookie. I let her play with the left over dough for extra sensory fun. All in all she didn't understand that we were making cookies, but she had fun making a mess and playing with the different textures.
How to make this activity grow with your toddler:
The older the toddler, the more involved he can be in the whole process. An older toddler may be able to sprinkle the flour, use the cookie cutters by himself, help roll the dough, or add ingredients to make the dough-the possibilities are endless!
