Encourage your tween to continue his enjoyment of cooking.
Older children who are almost teens, also referred to as "tweens," often enjoy the satisfaction of preparing tasty food in the kitchen. They like to prepare food for themselves and their family because it gives them a feeling of independence and a sense of accomplishment. Purchase your budding chef some cooking gifts to encourage his craft and give some added enjoyment and pride in his work in the kitchen. Add this to my Recipe Box.
Cookbooks
A cookbook will teach the tween new cooking techniques.
Look for cookbooks geared towards children and teenagers. Stay away from cookbooks directed primarily at very young children. The tween cook will be a teen cook soon, so a cookbook for her should be one she can grow into and use for many years to come, perhaps even one she can take to college. Concentrate on cookbooks that give simple, basic recipes and show cooking techniques with pictures.
Gift Basket
Arrange a variety of small gifts in a basket.
Make an attractive gift basket filled with items used in cooking and baking. Chances are good that the tween chef already has most of what he needs in his parent's kitchen, but he might like to have items that he can call his own. Look for things that might be geared to his age, such as trendy oven mitts or character cookie cutters. Include items that make baked goods special, such as unusual sprinkles or cupcake liners.
Personalized Items
An apron is a good gift for a young cook.
There are many stores that will personalize or monogram gift items. You can purchase an apron, take it to one of these stores and have it monogrammed with the cook's initials or name. Another idea is to buy a monogrammed journal that the tween can use to write recipes, record the dates she made the recipes, the family's responses and if it is a recipe she will use again. You could also purchase a monogrammed recipe box.
Cooking School
Tweens can learn the basics in a cooking class.
You can purchase a gift certificate to enroll the tween in a cooking class. Check the phone book and the Internet to see if there is a cooking school in your area. Call schools to see if they offer any classes geared to teenagers or older children. Also, check the newspaper for advertisements for cooking seminars that might be offered by cooking schools but held in other locations such as a hotel.
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