Seaford Children Create Winter Treats for the Holidays

A few days before Christmas, a group of young children from the local area helped transform a meeting room into a kitchen as they participated in a specialized Winter Treats program. Held inside the meeting room, the venue became the scene of a chocolate wonderland as children handcrafted chocolate goods for their families to enjoy.

Hosted by Christine Rissanen, a library volunteer and school psychologist, more than 20 children and teens gathered to create chocolate treats. "These programs are all about enrichment and learning new skills," said Rissanen. "Here, children would learn how to melt, mold and decorate chocolate."

Beginning with marshmallows on sticks, the children first took advantage of the melted milk chocolate. Dipping the marshmallows into the chocolate, the children attached the goodies to pretzels, which were also covered in chocolate. In the end, the children had created a "reindeer lollipop".

Moving onto the next activity, students used melted white chocolate and spread it on wax paper. Once evenly spread, the students then mashed peppermints and spread them over the white chocolate. Once this mixture was peeled off, students were proud to hold up their "white chocolate peppermint tree bark".

Preparing to make chocolate covered oreos (out of both chocolate and Golden oreos), the room began to buzz with excitement. Becoming louder and louder, the students couldn't contain their excitement to create such tasty goods.

Though the event is not free (students pay a materials fee), Rissanen said, "the library advertises events. From a mailing list to flyers in the library, I'm pretty sure the library does a good job of making sure the word gets out."

Rissanen travels to different libraries to conduct seasonal events, creating everything from Halloween treats to Valentines Day goods. "I like working with libraries – the staff is always friendly and really helpful. The kids are nice too," she remarked as she mixed the melting chocolate.

For more information on events at Seaford Public Library, visit the library's website.