Photo courtesy of Momtastic.com
The Fourth of July holiday is a time for family and friends to gather, relax and enjoy great summer weather. There is no doubt that many parents will be making grocery store runs prior to the holiday to stock up on kid-friendly and crowd-pleasing snacks. Not only are organic bananas a healthy and portable snack or breakfast item, children can create plenty of adventurous crafts using the fruit. By creating banana-themed craft displays or providing instructions on how to create them, you can boost banana sales and provide parents with a delightful way to keep children entertained.
Banana Boats
Banana boats are the quintessential craft activity for bananas. Peel a banana and slice it lengthwise. Place the banana rounded-side down to resemble a simple boat. Make this look patriotic by providing blueberries, strawberry chunks and whipped cream so children can add fruit passengers to their boats. Pretzel sticks make great oars or fishing poles for which to catch Swedish fish.
Banana Minions
These little yellow characters require a pair of scissors, crayons, glue stick and this simple paper pattern. Print the pattern, color it with your crayons (or print in color), cut along the lines and glue around a banana still in its peel. Make a small army of minions for a group of children and they will love playing with their characters before eating the scrumptious fruit later.
Banana Snakes
Children can get creative by peeling and slicing a banana and placing the disks in a winding pattern on a plate. Add chocolate chips for eyes and create a colored pattern by alternating strawberry slices or another colorful fruit with the banana disks.
Banana Pops
Bananas pair well with other ingredients to create limitless ideas for banana pops. First, peel and cut bananas into sections about an inch long. Stab each section with a toothpick or popsicle stick to create a pop. If you’re entertaining a group of children, place a multitude of toppings in small bowls – toppings can include crushed nuts, granola, cookie crumbs, sprinkles, gummy candies and more. You’ll also need a few types of stickier toppings that will serve as glue (whipped cream, frosting, chocolate or peanut butter). Children will grab their banana pop by the toothpick, dip it into the “glue” substance (or use a butter knife to spread it on the banana), then roll their pop in the toppings of their choice. For a children’s party, make multiple banana pops to create a colorful tray of banana appetizers or snacks. Be sure to watch small children carefully, as toothpicks can be dangerous.
By creating banana crafts, you can help customers entertain kids, encourage kids to eat a healthy snack and teach both parents and children about nutrition. The options are endless: banana penguins, banana sushi, banana animals and banana crafts abound online; a simple image search will provide you and your customers with plenty of tasty treat ideas.
To learn more about our organic bananas and how you can offer them in your store, please visit OrganicsUnlimited.com. To learn more about the GROW program, please visit Growbananas.org.
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