Holiday Sweets, Treats and Crafts for Kids of All Ages

By  R. Thorn

'Tis the season for all kinds of baked goodies—but what if you don't have time to bake? No worries, I found a couple of Christmas recipes that require no baking whatsoever—none! You don't need to be Julia Child to make these, and best of all, the little ones can help out.

One of my favorite things about Christmas is all of the wonderful aromas. Whether it's food cooking in the kitchen or the smell of fresh-cut Christmas trees, smells can trigger so many memories of past holidays. The Christmas craft I chose will have your house smelling festive!

I hope you enjoy these as much as I did; they're quick, easy, and will even impress Santa! 

Merry Christmas, Los Gatos! 

POWDERED DONUT SNOWMEN

WHAT YOU NEED:

1 pkg powdered donuts (I used Entenmann's Pop'ems)

Candy corn

Tube of black decorating gel

WHAT YOU DO:

1. Put donuts on a plate.

2. Remove the yellow end off the candy corn, so that the orange part is showing. I just used a butter knife and cut off the yellow end. Then I rubbed the orange end with my finger to dull it, that way you couldn't tell it had just been cut.

3. Insert the candy corn into the hole in the donut, with orange part poking out.

4. Using the black decorating gel, add eyes and a smile. Done!

REINDEER CUPCAKES

WHAT YOU NEED:

Cupcakes with chocolate frosting (I purchased mine at the grocery store)

Mini vanilla wafers

M&Ms (red, brown & white)

Tube of black decorating gel

Pretzels (standard size, not minis)

Tootsie Roll Midgees

WHAT YOU DO:

1. Get a pretzel and carefully break it in half to form 2 antlers. (You might have to experiment with this, it took me a few times before I got it right!) Place the antlers on the cupcake, and push them down into the cupcake a little to stabilize them.

2. Use two white M&M's for the eyes; place them on the cupcake. Use the black decorating gel to put a dot on each eye.

3. Add one vanilla wafer to the cupcake.

4. Attach a red M&M (for Rudolph's nose) or a brown M&M to the vanilla wafer using a drop of the black decorating gel.

5. Slice two thin pieces of Tootsie Roll and use for the ears. And there you have your reindeer!

ORANGE CLOVE POMANDER

WHAT YOU NEED:

An orange

Whole cloves (available at the grocery store)

Cinnamon (optional)

Toothpick

WHAT YOU DO:

1. Using the toothpick, poke holes in the orange. (I made about 6 holes at a time).

2. Once the hole is made, insert one whole clove into the hole, push it all the way in.

3. Do this all over the orange, or make a design of your choice, like a star pattern - there's no right or wrong way to do this. Put as many cloves into the orange as you like.

4. After the orange is covered in cloves, you can put cinnamon on it... or leave it as is, without cinnamon. The choice is yours.

5. Your pomander can be hung up using ribbon or displayed on a plate. It will shrink in size after a couple of weeks, this is normal & does not affect the scent. Enjoy your sweet-smelling craft!

Make sure to share your favorite holiday recipe in the comments below.