My 3 girls are creative little ones. They can take the most ordinary of items and imagine great things to make with them. Always wanting to ‘create’, they love when I present an idea for a new project. This especially applies to dessert creations in the kitchen. Yet my kids are newbies when it comes to baking, so in order for them to help, the recipe must be simple. When I heard about a generous yet fun holiday initiative from Kellogg’s, I knew that we must take part.
It involves kids, giving back, toys and treats. What a great combination, right?
This holiday season, Kellogg’s will make a donation of $20 to the Salvation Army, for every treat uploaded to RiceKrispies.ca. The Salvation Army will then use the donations to buy toys for children in need across Canada for the holidays.
To participate in #treatsfortoys, turn the simple yet much loved Rice Krispies Square into a toy! This is exactly what we did, and you needn’t think too hard to know that my girls set out to make a Princess, much like the many dolls that line the toy room.
To start, we made Rice Krispies Treats. Actually, my oldest daughter is starting to use the stove herself so she wanted to do this part all on her own. Melting the butter and mixing in the marshmallows was her job. I don’t think she’s seen marshmallows melt like that before, it was like a fun science experiment for her. Bonus points for learning as we go!
I did the mixing of the Rice Krispies into the marshmallow and after the treats set, I cut them into shapes for the Princess body. I then turned on the mixer so we’d have some Royal Icing for the creation.
That was the end of mama’s hand, the kids took the reins from here. The girls scoured the kitchen looking for items to decorate their Princess and bring her to life. In no time they had pearl and silver balls, liquorice, red piping icing and more.
They were really excited to find small gum-balls for eyes as well. Next, they each picked a colour for icing and my oldest taught the twins what combinations of food colouring make purple.
Using white Royal Icing as ‘glue’ they assembled the body parts and also used it to stick on the candy.
Tips for smaller kids:
- To ‘glue’ smaller pieces together using royal icing, give kids a toothpick to transfer the icing to the candy. Sometimes using the fingers gets tricky and sticky!
- Little ones might have a difficult time icing with a piping bag, so give them paint brushes. It’s much easier for them to paint on the icing than try and master the piping bag.
The girls spent a lot of time making their Princess perfect, much detail went into making her the perfect friend. They took turns taking on tasks, and in no time they had their Princess made out of Rice Krispies treats.
It was a project which they adored to complete, something different than the usual and already they have great plans for which toy they’d like to make next. I can see them making small toy treats with Rice Krispies for holiday gifts, a delicious touch of their own imaginations for friends and family.
Plus, a photo of their #treatsfortoys will help bring toys to Canadian kids who need them most. Perhaps their time in the kitchen will even give a princess doll for someone who really wants one this year. This program is such an easy way to give back this holiday season, plus a great excuse to have some fun in the kitchen.
Disclosure: This is a compensated post on behalf of Kellogg’s, yet opinions are always my own.
Chandra Christine O'Connor says
11/04/2013 at 10:14 amthey did a fabulous job well done. great cause. bravo girls
Tammi says
11/04/2013 at 8:29 pmThanks! They had so much fun!
Elizabeth Matthiesen says
11/04/2013 at 10:16 amAnd what a beautiful princess it is too, well done girls! What a great cause as well, Kellogg’s is being very generous to make a donation of $20 to the Salvation Army, for every treat uploaded so the Salvation Army can then use the money to buy toys for children in need across Canada for the holidays, hat off to Kelloggs.
Tammi says
11/04/2013 at 8:30 pmYAY!!!
Tammie Simwamu says
11/04/2013 at 10:21 amWow…that was very impressive:). I love baking, my youngest son is 11 and he loves loves being in the kitchen. He has acouple of youtube videos that who him cooking 101 eggs hahah:)
Catherine says
11/04/2013 at 10:27 amThey did a fantastic job on their princess. Kudo’s to Kelloggs for their donations to the Salvation Army to buy gifts for children in need. What a wonderful idea.
Tammi says
11/04/2013 at 8:30 pmIt is so great!!
Stacie says
11/04/2013 at 10:30 amAwwe they did a great job!!! Very nice girls!
Erin McGrath says
11/04/2013 at 10:57 amFantastic job girls! I love the aprons too 🙂
Brenda Roy says
11/04/2013 at 11:08 amBeautiful creation; Girls ! luv your aprons!
Tammi says
11/04/2013 at 8:31 pmHahaha, and thank you for the darling little aprons Gramma!
😉
Ira says
11/04/2013 at 11:12 amWhat a great idea! Maybe we will try it too, though, I’m reluctant to have anyone in MY kitchen lol.
Anne Taylor says
11/04/2013 at 11:15 amI love this idea! I wish I’d have thought of it when my daughters were little because this product would be a little more forgiving that gingerbread!
Kristen @ My 3 Little Kittens says
11/04/2013 at 11:19 amOh my gosh …. that is BEYOND adorable! Love, Love, Love it!!! Your girls are adorable as always and what a fabulous job they did!!! Great post Tammi!
Tammi says
11/04/2013 at 8:32 pmThank you Kristen!
🙂
Anna Johnson says
11/04/2013 at 11:46 amLooks like fun! Nice job!
Kristy. V says
11/04/2013 at 1:36 pmThat turned out so cute! I absolutely love baking with my little guy, great way to teach early math, language, and logistical skills. Thanks for the great idea!
Tiffany (Fabulous Mom Blog) says
11/04/2013 at 1:58 pmThat’s super cute. I love this way more than decorating gingerbread men and women. We need to do this at our house. Thanks for the ideas.
Amanda S says
11/04/2013 at 2:22 pmAbsolutely adorable! Your girls are precious. That’s a favorite treat around here, but we don’t do it with quite so much flair! 🙂
Jenness Mills says
11/04/2013 at 2:24 pmAmazing job! I’m going to try this with my little one.
Tammi says
11/04/2013 at 8:32 pmIt goes to a wonderful cause Jenness!
Valerie says
11/04/2013 at 3:07 pmWonderful idea! I love holiday baking – my daughter helps out and we look forward to it every year!
Joanne says
11/04/2013 at 3:08 pmVery well done girls. Awesome!
Ali Piwtorak says
11/04/2013 at 3:36 pmLove it! I’ll definitely be uploading some pics to Rice Krispies website. 🙂
Tammi says
11/04/2013 at 8:33 pmAwesome to hear, have fun ‘baking’ … can we even call it that? Rice Krispies treats are so easy to make! lol
Lisa Spray says
11/04/2013 at 4:25 pmGreat job! My children all love to cook and bake.
Lindsay Cyr says
11/04/2013 at 5:10 pmSuch a great idea! Good job girls! PS. Your girls are absolutely beautiful, Tammi!
Heidi C. says
11/04/2013 at 5:26 pmWhat fun! They did a fantastic job! Gorgeous girl!
Roseline says
11/04/2013 at 5:44 pmWhat a wonderful project! I am definitely putting this on my to do list priority #1! Toys for tots is such a great cause
Tammi says
11/05/2013 at 10:07 pmYAY!!! Let me know when you upload a photo so I can see!
😉
Judy C (Cowan) says
11/04/2013 at 6:03 pmThey did a great job. Love the idea of making a princess and may have to borrow it next time I look after my niece. Thank you!
Dawn Wiley-Rader says
11/04/2013 at 6:08 pmI love baking…my kids often enjoy getting their hands dirty in the kitchen too! what a great post!
Gvenny says
11/04/2013 at 6:31 pmFANTABULOUS job girls!!! how talented they all are!!
Samantha @pinkbears.ca says
11/04/2013 at 9:03 pmThis is awesome, what a great idea! I love that it’s something your girls could do together, also – I want to save this idea for when my girls are a few years older…
Michelle says
11/05/2013 at 4:33 amOmg what a cute idea!!
Tammi says
11/05/2013 at 10:08 pmThanks Michelle!
Victoria Ess says
11/05/2013 at 6:04 amAw they did such a great job! I love how well they appear to work together!
Soozle says
11/05/2013 at 6:22 amWhat a great program! Such an easy way to both get involved with your loved ones AND give back to those less fortunate! 🙂
Tammi says
11/05/2013 at 10:08 pmI agree, it’s amazing! I wish other companies would follow suit!
😉
Crissy says
11/05/2013 at 7:35 amOh, what a fun activity to do with your kids!
paula huie says
11/05/2013 at 10:31 amYour girls are sooo sweet! such a creative idea! I bet they ate that up!
Tiffany Dover says
11/05/2013 at 11:37 amThis is so awesome! How great to do this as a family with your girls! What they made turned our beautifully too! So kind of you!
Darlene Schuller says
11/05/2013 at 1:23 pmhaha omg how adorable are your girls!! It sure looks like they had a ton of fun making that!!!
Danielle says
11/05/2013 at 3:57 pmAdorable! Such a cute idea. We love making rice crispy treats in this home. One of my husband’s “specialty” desserts to make with the kids.
Jordi says
11/05/2013 at 9:33 pmI wonder if my nephews would come out as cleanly as your girls did?
Deb Dorrington says
11/07/2013 at 4:12 pmWow your girls did a terrific job and it looks like they work so well together. I had not heard of this cause until reading your post and now that I have I am going to get the kids to make something in the shape of a toy truck..thanks Tammi for sharing this.
valerie delaney says
11/09/2013 at 3:39 pmGreat work, rice krispie treats are the most versatile treat there is 🙂
Ester G says
11/11/2013 at 2:02 pmThat’s super cute, what I fun and imaginative way to bake together! I always liked doing Gingerbread houses with my mom
Ester G says
11/11/2013 at 2:03 pmThis is a cute way to get everyone involved in baking. I used to love making gingerbread houses with my mom
Christy Martin says
11/16/2013 at 4:26 pmVery creative and impressive! We will be taking part this year for sure. $20 to the Salvation Army, goes a long way and it is a great way to get kids involved too.
ASHLEY N says
11/17/2013 at 1:55 pmThis is o CUTE!
Cheryl Almas says
11/17/2013 at 3:06 pmlooks like fun.
Sarah says
11/17/2013 at 9:16 pmThey did a great job! |What a nice thing to do.