When it comes to edible jewelry, the candy necklace is king. Introduced in the late 1950s by Ce De Candy Inc., these sweet and fashionable treats have been adorning the necks of kids ever since. But why stop at candy?
Instructions:
First, everyone needs to wash their hands. This step isimportant because these items are all going to end up in someone’smouth. Once everyone is clean and ready to go, choose materials forthe base of your snacklace. Good options include twine, ribbon,elastic or even an edible option like thin licorice rope. Cut thestring or ribbon into pieces that are 20 to 24 inches long. Makesure the necklace is long enough to pull up to your mouth to take abite when it is tied around your neck.
Next, choose snacks for your snacklace. Don’t limit yourself tocandies with a hole in the center. If an item doesn’t already havea hole for threading, use a child-safe plastic sewing needle orskewer to poke a hole in the candy. Tie one end of the stringthrough the eye of the needle. Push the plastic needle through thehole you made in the center of the candy. The individual pieceswill end up on your string. This technique works well for softcandies such as Dots, Gummy Bears, Swedish Fish, etc. Before youbegin stringing, tie a knot at one end of the string so piecesdon’t slip off as you work.
Snacklaces can also be made from healthier foods. Try stringingO-shaped cereals, popcorn or miniature pretzels onto your necklace.Using a child-safe plastic needle, kids can use small pieces ofdried fruit (like cherries, blueberries, strawberries, cranberries,etc.) to make nutritious snacklaces.
For older toddlers and preschoolers, consider using anutrient-dense option like Happy Baby Organic Green Puffs. Littleones can work on their hand-eye coordination while stringing thesepuffs onto a piece of twine.
Once you have finished decorating your snacklace, tie a knot atthe other end to hold all of the adornments in place. Tie thesnacklace loosely around your child’s neck and let the snackingbegin. If you are using an edible base like licorice, remind kidsto eat the snacks before they bite into the rope or the wholesnacklace will come apart. Be sure to exercise common-sense cautionand supervise children closely when they are wearing somethingaround their necks.
Materials:
- Twine, ribbon, elastic or even an edible option like thinlicorice rope, cut into pieces that are 20 to 24 inches long
- Snacks to thread. Good options include: cereal, popcorn, gummycandy, miniature pretzels, dried fruit
