Kids' Days: Indoor Park and Baking

MC helping the Papa with the Spritzgebäck machine while munching.

For the first time, since we started this tradition of celebrating Kids' Day every first Sunday of the month, I was absent. That was last October.

I told the kids that mama would also love to join them, but I need to attend the seminar that would give me a certificate as trainer for gymnastics for small children. They understood, though they clung a bit. And Papa was coerced, to bring the kids at the Villa Kunterbunt, an indoor playground, a favorite Kids' Day place to visit. Despite his protests that staying outdoors would be better, to savor the good weather. At least, I didnt miss anything :D And I compensated by bringing home some nice drawings I did for the them.

And this November, I was looking forward to spending the Kids' Day outside. I wanted to drive someplace. But the kids just wont move. Since they are the boss during this day, we had to follow their wishes. Know what they wanted to do? Bake.

They wanted to stay at home and start baking Christmas cookies! Arrrgh. And I so wanted to escape the kitchen today. I wanted to eat out, after a visit someplace, and avoid the kitchen. Yet here we are, going to spend most of the whole Sunday in the kitchen.

We checked our cupboards if we have enough supply of flour, eggs, etc... not enough. Since it was a Sunday, all the stores are closed. Hmm, maybe I could have my day out? Nope, MC is clever. She wanted to call her oma and opa to ask if they have extra flour and eggs! We did. They have. Another arrrrgh!

Off they drove to pick up the supplies from opa and oma's house. I stayed at home and prepared the kitchen for the attack of the little hands. Oh, they enjoyed the mixing, the cutting, the baking, and as usual, they ate most of the dough!

What I enjoyed most was tasting the fresh from the oven cookies. Yum... By the way, these cookies are the traditional cookies baked in Germany during the Christmas season: Spritzgebackenes, Buttergebackenes, and our own version of the Marmaladegebackenes.

The recipes are already yellowed and cracked and white with flour and I could hardly read them because the handwriting used was the old style -- long and thin. But since I have been baking these together with my mother in law for years, I have more or less, an idea. Actually, I have made a copy of the recipes, in English!

Try the recipes found here.

And the kitchen escaped from of the little hands and feet because:

1. I made sure there's a moist footmat right in front of the kitchen door. They must wipe their feet if they would need to go out.

2. There are also moist towels readily available for the little hands.

3. Everybody have an apron on, a kitchen towel hanging near their working area and paper towels are readily on hand. They have something to wipe on, everytime.

4. Once a certain cookie's been mixed, everything would have to be cleaned up, wiped out and removed. And what's not needed anymore, would be placed into the dishwasher. No dirty dishes all over the kitchen. This creates space, too.

5. If they wanted to try the cookies, they should stay in the kitchen, too.

Did you think the kitchen completely escaped 'damage'? I only tried to keep the damage smaller with these tips. Actually, I could glide from one corner to the other easily, I even tried some chacha and rumba steps with the amount of flour scattered on the floor! Well, the important thing is, the kids had fun. And my husband volunteered to clean the mess :D