Whoever said that kids shouldn't play with their food was totally wrong, because making food more fun can be hugely advantageous. Not only does playing at mealtime help kids make lasting childhood memories, but it can also encourage them to eat healthy food because it's so much more enjoyable. There are a ton of easy ways to make food fun that won't add much more time to a parent's plate — but they will make the kids' plate a blast.
From cutting things into creative shapes to using utensils that double as toys, keep reading to see the 17 best ways to make mealtime more fun for the kids. And even the parents might enjoy crafting and eating a few of these concoctions for their own meals. We're never too old to add a little excitement to eating a snack.
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Animal Rice Molds
Everything is more fun to eat in an animal shape, right? Luckily rice sticks together really easily, making it a perfect food to put inside a mold. Amazon sells molds to make little rice ducks, penguins, cats, pandas and more. Kids (and even adults) will love the novelty of it.
Utilize Cookie Cutters
A super simple way to make a meal more fun is just to serve it in a shape. Cookie cutters aren't just for baked goods. Use them to cut sandwiches, fruit, cheese, and more into fun designs. Stick the shapes in a child's lunchbox to brighten their day at school.
Octopus Hot Dogs
Children will love dipping these hot dog octopus bites into ketchup and mustard. Just cook the hot dogs as normal and then cut in half and cut vertical strips for the legs leaving the head intact. Of course, only serve to children who are old enough to not choke on the hot dog.
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Balloon Dog
This one is also for the older kids, since whole grapes can be a choking hazard. The bonus of feeding it to older children is that they can probably even make it themselves — so it's a craft and a snack all in one. Just use toothpicks to stick grapes together into a cute balloon animal shape.
Pancake Shapes
Breakfast gets instantly better just by making shapes out of pancakes. One option is to use cookie cutters to form fun pancake shapes, but parents can also assemble pancake creatures like this funny bunny breakfast. Stack two smaller pancakes on a big pancake to form a bunny and its feet. Then use a banana or strawberry slice and some blueberries to make the paws and a dollop of whipped cream for a tail. So cute!
Grilled Cheese Cereal
Sometimes just switching up how a food is presented can make it a whole new experience. Instead of serving a grilled cheese sandwich with a side of tomato soup, parents can serve grilled cheese cereal. Cut a grilled cheese into smaller cubes to make mini sandwiches. Then drench the whole thing in soup and hand the kids some spoons to eat with.
Spaghetti Nests
Give spaghetti night an upgrade by serving the pasta in these circular bird's nest shapes. Then top with sauce (if the kiddos like that) and a few small mozzarella balls to act as the bird eggs. It's a simple meal but with a fun, unique twist that will make dinnertime so special.
Fruit Snack
Most kids love fruit, and they'll love it even more when it's in a super creative shape. This banana sheep won't take long to make. The body and head are made from sliced bananas, the ears are peanuts, the legs are pretzels, and the face can be made from sprinkles. Or to stick with the fruit theme, blueberries for eyes and a little apple skin or strawberry slice smile would work, too.
Rice Cake Faces
Fruit can really go a long way at meal time to help decorate an otherwise pretty basic snack. Instead of just serving rice cakes with peanut butter, use strawberries, bananas, blueberries, apples, and more to create fun faces on the rice cakes. The kids can do their own designs too if Mom or Dad isn't feeling that creative.
Veggie Tots
Using fruit isn't the only way to make a meal more fun. These veggie tots will make eating things like carrots and broccoli a more exciting experience. Check out the video for the full recipe, but parents basically just mix veggies with some cheese, form it into a tot shape, and bake it. Everything tases better as a tot — even broccoli.
Butterfly Quesadilla
This fun food shape also includes veggies to help make it extra exciting to eat. Instead of a plain quesadilla, arrange the triangles into butterfly wings and use veggies, like carrots and bell peppers, to make the body and head. The meal stays the same, but the enjoyment level will definitely be higher.
Mashed Potato Volcano
For the dino-obsessed child, they'll love helping build this fun foodscape. Form mashed potatoes into a volcano shape and surround with dinosaur chicken nuggets and broccoli trees. Then drizzle on the gravy "lava" and watch their eyes light up with joy. Playing the Jurassic Park theme song while it happens is just a bonus.
Fun Plates
Encourage little ones to practice using utensils with this dining set. It comes with a spoon and fork made to look like little construction vehicles and a bulldozer to help them push food onto the utensil. This particular set has over 2,000 five-star reviews on Amazon.
Egg in a Hole
Egg in a hole, toad in the hole, whatever we called it growing up, it's a hit for kids today as well. For an added bonus, parents can use a cookie cutter to make the egg hole a fun shape. For Valentine's Day use a heart, a pumpkin in the fall, a tree during the winter holidays. The possibilities are endless.
Checkered Toast
Instead of a regular peanut butter and jelly sandwich where the condiments just get layered on top of each other, consider serving an open-faced checkered sandwich. Using the back of a spoon, smear the jelly, peanut butter, or even cream cheese in an alternating pattern. It gives the snack a little more visual interest.
Egg Shapers
Genuine Fred makes these food molds that are just so cute. The shapes help parents make sunny side up breakfasts that look like dogs, cats, frogs, or even koalas. The smiley face mold can be used for scrambled eggs if kids prefer those. And they can also be used for pancake batter.
Pasta Characters
There's something about macaroni in the shape of a cartoon character that just hits different. Maybe it's because it feels like the cheese sauce sticks better in the shapes, but we were big fans back in the 2000s when the SpongeBob macaroni first came out, and our kids will be fans today. Kraft recently brought back SpongeBob as a shape, but there's been newer shows like Paw Patrol introduced in pasta form as well.
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