It may only be early November, but now is a great time to start thinking about and planning for the upcoming holiday season! There’s only so much time in every day, and everyone wants to enjoy family fun while making all the necessary plans and preparations. One of the first things coming to mind for us – all kinds of delicious food! We all know that it takes a bit of advance planning and organization. So, let’s get started thinking about how you can make the most of your time in the kitchen this holiday season!
Let the kids help bake that holiday pecan pie!
For many people, the holidays represent a wonderful time to create nostalgic seasonal dishes and desserts with our family and friends. Particularly if you have children, this is a great time of year to get them involved and pass along culinary family traditions – and even create new memories together!
If your children are old enough to understand and follow your instructions in the kitchen, then they are ready to join you as a “mini-chef” this holiday season. It can get crazy busy in the kitchen during baking and cooking sessions, but that can be part of the fun, too! With so much happening, time really can get away from you with extra helping hands and ingredients everywhere. During the holidays, having the Time Timer visual timer on-hand in the kitchen can be extra-helpful when your mini-chef joins you!
Teach time concepts AND cooking skills!
When children are young, it’s a good idea to familiarize and teach them about the concept of passing time. In today’s world, many children don’t have a consistent visual of a traditional wall clock like many of us did when we were young. Smart phones, tablets, PC screens, and smart watches are the norm for “telling time” these days. And that may actually hinder young children’s understanding of the passage of time.
So, when you’re engaging your kids in the kitchen this holiday season, make sure you have a Time Timer visual timer on the counter. It is an amazing little timer with a disappearing red disk that “shows” the actual passage of each minute. Choose a time frame of up to 60-minutes on the Time Timer MOD® – Home Edition, and your little one will follow right along with you on how much time is left for that pumpkin pie! They’ll love all the awesome Time Timer MOD Home Edition colors, Give them some ownership of the process and even let them select the MOD Home Edition color they like best!
If your child likes to keep asking, “How much time is left?”, while you’re cooking or baking, you’ll have a visual (and visually appealing) way for your child to actually see and better understand how long that stuffing will be in the oven.
Have a complicated menu item planned? Time Timer to the rescue!
No need to dismiss the kids when you’re working through a more complicated holiday recipe. Get them involved in the process of breaking everything down into manageable steps with the Time Timer MOD + Dry Erase Board. While many of us pull up recipes from our smart devices or phones, or maybe print them out, it’s always helpful to have recipe information big-and-bold right in front of you. That’s where the Time Timer MOD + Dry Erase Board can be handy. You can make clear lists of ingredients and steps, and then cross them out when complete. This helps kids understand food prep procedures – and it’s not as overwhelming when taking this approach. This also is a great tool and strategy for adults and others who have ADHD.
Need more time? We got you!
Maybe Time Timer’s 60-minute timers aren’t exactly enough for what you have in mind in the kitchen. No problem! Maybe you have an involved, multi-stage dish that needs to braise, or just requires more time. Then, check out Time Timer’s PLUS 120 model. In fact, we offer a great range of PLUS timer options, including five-minute timer and 20-minute timer options – and more. These sturdy timers have a handle and serve a multitude of uses for you and your family well beyond the kitchen.
Cluttered countertops? Check out Time Timer TWIST®!
If you want a Time Timer visual timer, but you just can’t see putting ONE MORE thing on your countertop while you’re preparing food, the Time Timer TWIST® is perfect for you! This sleek timer with a digital disappearing disc has a magnetic back – just right for the oven door, refrigerator, or another metal surface in your kitchen. Unlike our other Time Timer visual timers, the TWIST has a continuous alert at the set timeframe to ensure your sweet potato pie won’t burn.
What’s really cool about all Time Timer visual timers is the ability to use a “visual only” setting. If you or someone in your family has sound sensitivity or their sensory processing issues, the disappearing red disc will be all you’ll need.