In my day an after school play date was to rock up at a friends house, be given a snack - (in my house, something yummy from the freshly baked cake tin, or my favourite at a friends was fairy sandwiches, made from lettuce leafs with sugar sprinkled inside and wrapped up!) and then sent to play. Around 5.30 we were shoved out the door so we could run back down the road for tea with our own family.
It's taken me a while to get into the swing of play dates of today which is actually a full blown date with another child, including picking up from school, (usually carrying two sets of everything!) providing a light snack when you get home to keep them going whilst you prepare a gourmet meal. In between times you need to organise the entertainment, manage personalities, check that there is no homework or urgent notes in the school bag! as well as try to get your house straight before their Mums get there....lucky I have fab mum friends with cool kids who know I'm a bit different and like to do something creative when people big or small enter my home. Today was no exception as I thought up an easy thing for the girls to do....get your button boxes out, cut some elastic about 30cm long and get the kids busy making their own button hair bands, by simply threading on favourite buttons. Just knot the ends together afterwards. They were so thrilled with them and have promised each other they will wear them tomorrow at school.
I then thought I'd get them to cook their own after supper treat, so found this recipe of my mums and they made yummy chocolate fudge cake...it's so simple, takes no oven time, and they were both proud of their efforts, especially when any passing adult couldn't resist stealing a piece. Here's the recipe;
CHOCOLATE FUDGE CAKE1 packet of plain biscuits(crushed), 1 cup sugar, 100g butter, 1 egg, 1 desertspoon of cocoa.
Melt the butter and sugar and cocoa on a very low heat. Stir in beaten egg (don't boil), add crushed biscuits - mix all together. Place in flat tin and cool. Make some chocolate icing and spread on the top. You may want to pop in the fridge to set ready to eat as soon as possible.
(We put fudge pieces on the top, but you could do coconut, nuts whatever you have in your cupboard).
I keep stealing the bits around the edges now every time I'm in the kitchen, pretending to myself that they have less calories 'cos its not a whole bit! Yeh right says my waist. Great news is that I can now take some to my Scrap Cafe tomorrow morning at the Eternal Maker where I'm teaching vintage tags.
Hope you might be able to use the ideas above - sorry boys mums not so good at thinking up boy stuff, but you could still make the fudge cake!
Debs
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