Yes we know sugar is terrible, and yes of course we are always telling our kids to eat less of it. But our kids recently found this recipe for homemade gummies that are so much fun to make and eat that we figured you might want to try it out.
All you need is Jello, gelatin, corn syrup and silicone ice cube trays. Back in the old days ice only came in cubes, remember? But nowadays you can make ice shaped like pretty much anything - robots, yetis, tikis,hearts, sharks and divers, Titanics and icebergs, Darth Vaders, R2D2s, Lego minifigures, Lego bricks - and that’s just a quick survey of what we’ve got piled on top of our fridge. The Lego brick molds that you buy at the Lego store don’t have holes in the bottom so you can’t actually build with the finished gummies, but if you take the time to make your own silicone molds like the King of Random did here, your gummies will be so precisely made and structurally robust that you can actually connect them together before you eat them. Sweet!
And if you’re looking for cheap silicone ice cube molds, there’s a lot up for sale on AliExpress. You just need to be patient while they make their way over from China.
If you’d rather skip the trips to the dentist and/or you are holding out for Halloween, we also think a Mail Order Mystery is a pretty great way to have some fun with your kids. You and your kids can embark upon a six week long quest for pirate treasure or you can pitch in to wake a princess who’s been asleep for 699 years. And if you go this route you can save the princess and save your teeth!
My 11 year old and 14 year old grandkids had a great time working on this mystery. It especially appealed to my 11 year old granddaughter who loves to solve puzzles.
My 8-year-old was convinced this mystery was real! The weathered messages in code, antique keys, newspaper clippings, and detailed backstory really brought it to life. He had a lot of fun decoding messages and puzzling over the letters, either with us or with his friends.
