Rainy Day Playdate

The Day Before

• Make the Raspberry-Lemon Fruit Dip. Cover and refrigerate.
• Make the fruit kabobs (have your child help you). Cover and refrigerate.

About One Hour Before Friends Arrive

• Assemble ingredients for cookies. Put candy decorations in the cups of a muffin tin and arrange Popsicle sticks, ribbon, and decorating gel tubes on a tray or rimmed baking sheet (so you can move them around easily).
• Be sure there is a stool for the children to stand on for hand washing - either in the kitchen or nearby bathroom.  Kid-size or small aprons are fun to cover up clothes. 

Make It Special!

• Print copies of the Bear Cookie Pops recipe for each child to take home.  Include your child's name as the "host" of the day, along with his/her tips for baking their favorite treats.
• Once you've established the kitchen safety rules and get underway, invite one of the children to be the TV host of their own cooking show. Let them show the other kids what they need to do to decorate their cookies.
• Give the children a quiz about some of the baking techniques you've demonstrated.  Measuring, using the oven, cooling and decorating...reinforce what they've learned in a fun way (the right answer gets an extra chocolate kiss!)