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School is out—and summer is in! That means it’s time for fun in the sun, from beach trips to pool parties to barbecues and beyond.
It goes without saying that every warm weather occasion calls for summer snacks for kids. And sometimes it’s fun to go beyond the classic choices like ice cream and chips in favor of creative summer-themed snacks that truly make a statement.
From party-ready children’s snack recipes to convenient prepackaged summer snacks to buy, we’ve got you covered with our list of fun and easy summer snacks for kids. So, let’s dive in!
Let’s kick off our list of kid-friendly summer snacks with clever appetizers and sides that are sure to make a splash at any summer get-together.
Fruit is always one of the most refreshing snacks for a hot day. Use a melon baller to cut “beach balls” made of watermelon, cantaloupe, honeydew, and other favorite fruits. Arrange these quick summer snacks in a bowl and you’re good to go!
Next on our list of summer snacks for kids we have seashell pasta salad. Use shell-shaped pasta as the base, then mix in diced vegetables like cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, and bell peppers. Toss with Italian dressing and your favorite herbs and serve at room temperature or chilled in individual clear cups.
What is the best summer snack to serve when you’re looking to keep nutrition at the top of the menu? One of our favorite snack ideas and tips for kids is to turn a regular veggie tray into a fun creation. Make a dip that looks like seaweed surrounded by colorful coral. Don’t worry—this appetizer doesn’t include actual seaweed! Instead, make a yummy, cheesy spinach dip and serve alongside veggie sticks like carrots, celery, and bell peppers.
Cut sandwiches into square and round shapes of different sizes and stack them to resemble sandcastles. Use pretzel sticks for the turrets and top with flagged toothpicks. These quick summer snacks will look like they took a long time to make.
Make sandwiches on soft sliced bread using your favorite fillings like ham and cheese or turkey and avocado. Carefully cut each sandwich into the shape of a flip flop sole. Use thinly sliced scallions for the two straps and connect them at the top with a halved cherry tomato and a toothpick.
Here’s another sandwich-based idea. Cut sandwiches into surfboard shapes and decorate with stripes of different colored condiments, such as mustard, mayo, and French dressing. These summer snacks for kids look great on a party platter.
Smoothies always make great cold snacks for summer on days when temperatures are high. Blend together blueberries, bananas, and Greek yogurt to create a lagoon-inspired blue smoothie. Pour into a clear mason jar for a refreshing treat!
Continuing our roundup of summer snacks for kids we have this kid-approved snack mix. Fill small beach buckets with a sweet-meets-savory mix of pretzel sticks, fish-shaped crackers, popcorn, and mouthwatering Welch’s® Fruit Snacks. These little buckets are great individual snack ideas for the beach because each kid can have their own.
Ready for dessert? Satisfy every sweet tooth with these must-serve summer themed snacks for the dessert table.
Bake a rectangular cake and frost it with blue icing to look like water. Use graham crackers for the pool deck and licorice sticks for pool lanes. Use ring-shaped hard candies to look like inflatable pool floats. This cake is one of those summer treats that kids will love to help decorate and is a great option for pool parties or swim meets.
If you’d rather serve individual summer themed snacks on your dessert table, consider making swimming pool cupcakes instead. Frost cupcakes with blue icing to look like water. Add hard candy pool floats or swimmer figurines on top.
You can also take cupcakes in a beachy direction by adding white piping on top of the blue frosting to look like waves. Top these kid friendly summer snacks with gummy fish, edible pearls, or star-shaped sprinkles to look like starfish. Or dust half with crushed graham crackers to look like sand.
Continuing the sand theme, try these clever summer snacks for kids. Layer crushed vanilla wafers or graham crackers, pudding, and whipped cream in clear cups. Top with a decorative beach umbrella or star-shaped sprinkles. Keep these cold summer snacks in the fridge until party time for a refreshing treat.
Next on our list of summer snacks for kids we have adorable sandcastle marshmallow treats. Mold marshmallow squares into sandcastle shapes using small sand toy molds. Decorate with graham cracker crumbs for sand and small candy shells.
Another one of our favorite children’s snacks recipes is sand dollar cookies. Make round sugar cookies and top with sliced almonds arranged in a sand dollar design. Sprinkle with cinnamon-sugar for a sandy effect. If you’re wondering: What are good outdoor snacks for dessert? These summer treats fit the bill because they hold up great in the sun.
Also made with sugar cookie dough, clam shell cookies are next on our list of summer snack ideas. Make sugar cookies in the shape of clam shells. Spread frosting between two cookies to create a sandwich, positioning the two cookies to look like an open shell. Stick a pearl candy in the center for easy summer snacks for kids that will make quite an impression.
Make blue jello in clear cups to resemble water. Top with whipped cream and Welch’s® Fruit Snacks Summer Fruits, which feature a delicious combination of summer flavors including watermelon, cantaloupe, blackberry, mango-peach, honeydew, and plum. These mouthwatering summer snacks for kids are made with real fruit and are an excellent source of Vitamins A, C, & E.
When you’re making a list of summer snacks to buy, be sure to include Welch’s® Fruit Snacks. They’re a perfect addition to fun summer recipes and are also a great grab-and-go option for any summer adventure!
