Celebrating Pancake Day in 2021

Are your kids already getting excited about pancake day? Then they’re not the only ones! Pancake day, otherwise known as Shrove Tuesday, is one of the most exciting times of the year for children (and adults!) since it’s an excuse to eat delicious pancakes with many delicious toppings! If you’re wondering how to celebrate Pancake Day this year, read on. Here are some great ideas for making this fun day even more special.

Explore the history of Pancake day

Let’s face it, what kids love most about Pancake day is eating lots of mouth-watering pancakes! But you can make this day even more special by teaching them all about the history of the occasion and why we celebrate it every year. Let them know that Pancake Day is the day before Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent in the Christian calendar, and that making pancakes was originally seen as a way of using all the 'tempting' that food people had in their cupboards. This included sugar and eggs, which were not traditionally eaten throughout the fasting period of Lent.

Get cooking! 

Once you’ve taught your kids all about the meaning of pancake day, it’s time to start making some! The good news is that pancake recipes are fairly kid-friendly, with several steps they can help you with during the cooking process. Kids of all ages can help make pancakes. Toddlers can assist with simpler tasks, including pouring the milk and eggs into the flour and mixing the ingredients to form a batter. Your older children can help with measuring, reading directions, and then flipping the pancakes.  

Add some colour to your pancakes

As well as selecting several toppings that your kids will love, including confectionery, fresh fruit, and syrup, you could also choose to add colour to your pancakes to make them even more appealing. Add a couple of drops of food colouring to the batter to make pretty rainbow pancakes. If you want to take a more natural approach, add raspberry, blueberry, or sweet potato puree to make red, blue, or orange pancakes. Kids are more likely to try new foods when they’re brightly-coloured, so it can be a good way of encouraging them to take a bite.

Have a pancake race or flipping contest

Pancake races are a fantastic ideal if you have kids. The whole family can join in and you could even have a prize for the winner. As you run, you have to toss the pancake several times into the air before catching it with the frying pan. Pancake races have become a British tradition, held in villages and towns across the UK on Pancake day. Pancake races originated all the way back in 1445 when a woman lost track of the time whilst cooking pancakes on Shrove Tuesday. When she heard the sound of the church bells ringing, she raced to church, all the while still clutching her frying pan! For a fun flipping contest, give each child a saucepan and a pancake. Then set a timer for one minute and see how many times they can toss their pancake without dropping it on to the floor!

Pancake day crafts

Pancake day doesn’t have to be all about eating endless amounts of fluffy, delicious pancakes. There are also many arts and crafts you can do to celebrate this fun day. You could draw pancakes and colour them in with all your favourite toppings on top, make a toy cooker using a shoebox and paints, or even create paper chefs hats to wear whilst cooking your pancakes. Your little one might even like to make ‘Happy Pancake Day’ cards to give to their grandparents. Pancake day is the perfect time to encourage your child to get creative!

Read books about pancakes

Pancakes bring such delight to children of all ages. After all, not only are they nice to eat, but they’re also easy to cook too. Kids can gain great accomplishment from helping cook pancakes on Shrove Tuesday. This is why we think that every child’s book collection should include a few books celebrating this finger-licking treat! There are some fantastic picture books out there which are perfect for young kids. They’re an ideal way to introduce them to the joys of Pancake day. Mr Wolf’s Pancakes is one of the best recommended, as is Rhinos Don’t Eat Pancakes. What’s great is that these books provide great entertainment all year round too.

Pancake day is undoubtedly one of the most exciting days of the year for children. It offers them the chance to help cook and eat tasty pancakes with various delightful toppings. Plus, with many arts and crafts and games to be enjoyed throughout the day, there’s no excuse for not making Pancake day super special in your house this year.