A spirited group of area youngsters gathered at the Becker Community Center Saturday morning to get holiday creative at the annual “Cooking with Mrs. Claus” event.
The program is a favorite for the youngsters as they get a chance to visit with Mrs. Claus while she teaches them how to make and decorate delectable treats just weeks from Christmas Day.
The kids arrived at Saturday’s event and took seats around several tables set up in the middle of the room. Some fo the tables featured coloring book sheets and crayons for the kids to express themselves before Mrs. Claus arrived, while other tables had the colorful ingredients the kids would eventually use to make yummy cookies and bars.
The children migrated to the cookie stations when Mrs. Claus arrived then they learned to decorate cookies from Santa’s wife.
One table featured pretzels with chocolate M&M’s and Hershey kisses. Another table had graham crackers with melted marshmallow frosting, small pretzels and chocolate chips designed to look like a reindeer.
Another table had donut holes and bowls of frosting and sprinkles. Kids were asked to dunk their donut holes in the frosting, then into the bowl of sprinkles to make eye and stomach-appealing desserts.
Christmas music was played in the background as Mrs. Claus and her BCC assistants wandered from table to table to teach the kids how to best decorate their yummy treats. Mrs. Claus also helped the kids as they moved to the floor to begin a game where they rolled dice and slowly created a snowman out of printed paper images. The kids tossed the die, then depending on the number on the die, would cut out and place the corresponding item on a blank snowman. They were able to choose from a variety of different noses, hats, eyes and buttons as they worked to create their own personalized snowman.
All-in-all, the kids seemed to have enjoyed their experiences in decorating cookies and making snowmen. And from the smile on her face, Mrs. Claus also found delight in bringing joy to the little ones she entertained.
