Gifts for kids: ideas to introduce them to cooking

I still remember the surprise when a very dear relative showed up with three huge packages. I mean huge—don’t imagine they were the size of a house, but wow, each box took up its space and with all three together they covered their whole belly and even their eyes! It made me laugh. And, to my greater surprise, it was a Set I loved: the WMF Maya the Bee cutlery Set. I’m not talking about just anything: a ceramic Set with beautiful prints, cutlery with very good steel quality, and all the pieces an ideal size for children.

If I comment on the last part it's because, as most moms know, we tend to overfill the adults' plates, and children recoil just from seeing so much food. In these kids' sets, you can tailor portions much more to their needs, and mealtime becomes happier.

They gifted me the three Sets to celebrate the birth of my youngest son. So now each of my kids has their own Set, and that’s how I discovered these collections. I loved them so much that I couldn’t help adding them to the shop -these, and those from The Jungle Book-, because I think they're a delightful gift: often we don't know what to give, and these pieces are pretty, practical and very high quality. The fact that they come in a generously sized box, with all the pieces very well presented inside, makes them a gift with a lot of presence.

Aside from these sets, there are some other products I haven't mentioned, and I wanted to share them since, from my own experience, I know that often we don't know what we can give. So with the idea of having something to gift the little ones that both they and the parents will like, we included several products that I find delightful, while helping kids get into the world of cooking in a fun way.

I'll start with one of my favorites: the Opinel Petit Chef Set. It's a shame you can't see this product in person because you'd love it: you'd notice its very suitable dimensions (a serious knife yet slightly downsized to make it proportional for children), and you'd sense how safe this Set is.

The Set is ideal for children from 5 or 6 years old, when they're eager to do grown-up things and are aware of the danger a knife can pose. The design is very well thought out: they're taught to hold it by passing the index finger through the hole, and when held that way there's no risk of cuts. It's totally safe, has no point and its edge isn't extremely sharp, so they can use it calmly and learn at the same time how to hold knives correctly.

Continuing with the chef angle, the Le Creuset cupcake Set includes pieces that will inspire the child to start baking, although several of them will be used very often by adults: the bowl is a delight, and the spatulas, despite being smaller in size, are ideal for stirring the smaller pans. There is the blue Set and the pink one, both gorgeous, and with Le Creuset quality.

To friends with kids who like baking, I've also given the Nordic Ware stamps, because they're very large, easy to grip and children love pressing the dough to make their cookies. Since they come in a nicely presented box, they're also a very good gift.

Although for fun products for them, with a wide variety to choose from, there are the Zoku products for making ice pops and slushes. They love them! Both those that let you make popsicles in 7 minutes and the molds you leave in the freezer are great options: we start from the premise that children love ice cream, add that these have very fun shapes, and they make them in their favorite flavors! It's a fabulous option. Also, they're so easy to use and kids are so practical and imaginative that the results are very appealing: they might take liquid yogurt and add the pieces of fruit they like best or decide that horchata is better frozen but accompanied by spoonfuls of cream. Yum! (There are many Zoku options — to see them all you can visit the section here).

To finish, a Set that isn’t for getting into the world of cooking, but for enjoying eating (which has its own special something, too!). It’s a breakfast Set, very complete and one that charms the little ones, but undoubtedly the grown-ups as well. It’s the Le Creuset breakfast Set, with 4 pieces and available in blue and pink. Delicious!