Fun Christmas Food: Festive Babybel Cheese

As I'm sure you've noticed by now, I'm a big fan of Babybel cheese.  Both of my boys love eating them, and from a creative point of view, the wax cover on them makes them really fun and easy to decorate! I tend to buy them when they are on special offer, as they are quite expensive, but they always go down well as a treat in Small Child's lunch box.  Today I'm sharing some simple ideas to customise them for the festive season.  All the ideas are quick and easy - why not give one a try and pop it in your child's lunch box as a fun Christmas surprise for them? And in case you're wondering, this post was not sponsored by Babybel, I have no connection to them - I just really love these little cheeses!

Penguin - to make, simply cut a circle from the wax using a mini bento cutter and remove, add edible icing eyes (little circles of cheese would also work) and a small triangle of carrot for the beak. To see more penguin themed foods see this blog post.

Simple present - to make, peel the middle strip off, leaving the rest of the wax on the cheese, then with a small sharp knife, cut another strip off in the other direction to give ribbon effect.

Santa - wrap a strip of bear yoyo (dried fruit strip) around the cheese, overlapping it slightly at the back so that it can stick to itself. Cut a piece of carrot into a belt buckle shape and pop on top.

Robin - a reverse of the penguin above - to make, cut a circle from the wax using a mini bento cutter, then remove all but the circle. You may need to cut the strip of paper away with scissors.  Add edible icing eyes and a tiny triangle cut from carrot for the beak.

Star - using mini bento cutters, cut a star from the wax and remove, being careful to keep it in one piece. Using a smaller star shaped cutter, cut out a tiny star from the wax and pop back onto the cheese to get an outline effect.

Reindeer - peel all of the wax from the cheese and remove.  Using a mini circle cutter, cut a nose from the wax and pop it back on the cheese. Dot on two eyes with an edible marker pen, and add antlers using pieces of broken pretzel.

Snowman - peel two Babybel cheeses and discard the wax.  Using a small circle cutter, cut a piece from one of the cheeses and slot them together to make the snowman shape. With an edible marker pen, dot on eyes, a mouth and buttons. Add a sliver of dried apricot or carrot for the nose, and broken pieces of pretzel for the arms. Pretzel sticks would also work - I just couldn't find any!

Winter Hat - peel half of the wax off a cheese, leaving the other half in place.  Using a tiny circle cutter or the tip of a sharp knife, cut a tiny mouth from the cheese and pop back on the cheese. Dot on eyes using an edible marker pen to complete the face.  Pinch the side of the wax slightly to give it a bit more of a winter hat shape, and add a mini marshmallow pompom to complete it.

I hope my ideas will inspire you to get a little festive with Babybel cheese - they really are fun!

Grace