20 Healthy Christmas Snacks For Kids (Surprisingly Cheap Too)

What if you want to feed your kids something that isn’t full of sugar? Now THAT can be hard to find during the holidays.

These healthy cheap Christmas snacks for kids are here to save the day. They’ll help you balance out the sugar rush! From Grinch-inspired fruit kabobs to veggie reindeer, these festive bites are easy on your budget, quick to make, and guaranteed to bring holiday smiles.

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Note: Look through the recipes and pick the ones you already have some ingredients for. This way, you’ll have all the fun without having to buy everything new.

Why You’ll Love These Kids Snacks

Each recipe below is specifically handpicked because:

• Kids love them
• They are healthy
• They’re EASY to make (keeping it simple means it’s actually doable)
• They don’t cost a fortune

There’s a lot to love with this lineup of holiday snack ideas!

Easy Cheap Christmas Snacks for Kids

1. Grinch Kabobs

*Simple after-school snack!

It doesn’t get any easier than these Grinch Kabobs! You’ll need:

• green grapes
• banana slices
• strawberries with the stems cup off
• a toothpick or skewer to put it together

Kids will love making AND eating this nutritious after school or party snack.

2. Snowman String Cheese

*Great for school parties!

For these snowman string cheese snowmen, you’ll need:

• string cheese sticks
• black thin foam or paper
• small pieces of ribbon
• permanent marker (orange and black) to make the faces and buttons

First, tape the black hats on the top of the string cheese. Next, tie on the ribbon as the scarf. Finally, draw on the eyes, nose, mouth, and buttons for your snowman.

3. Christmas Pinwheels

*Tasty snack, lunch, or appetizer

This recipe from Taste of Home is loved by kids everywhere and has veggies inside! You’ll need:

• 2 packages cream cheese, softened
• 1 package ranch salad dressing mix
• 1/2 cup minced sweet red pepper
• 1/2 cup minced celery
• 1/4 cup sliced green onions
• 1/4 cup sliced pimiento-stuffed olives
• 4 flour tortillas (10 inches)

In a bowl, beat cream cheese and dressing mix until smooth. Mix in your red pepper, celery, onions and olives. Spread about 3/4 cup on each tortilla and roll them up tightly. You’ll want to wrap them in plastic and refrigerate for at least two hours before cutting them into half inch slices.

4. Chocolate Covered Oranges

*Kids love the chocolate!

These chocolate covered oranges are delicious and oh so easy. Melt dark chocolate and peel your orange or clementine. Chop nuts for a nice crunch too. I used pistachios and chopped them into small pieces. Dip your oranges in the chocolate and nuts, and enjoy your snack.

5. Cucumber christmas Tree Sandwiches

*Makes an easy lunch too

From Haute and Healthy Living, these sandwiches are adorable. To make them, cut out Christmas trees from bread, top them with a thin layer of cream cheese (or tzatziki) and arrange halved cucumber slices like branches. To finish, you’ll top your trees with a mini carrot or bell pepper star!

6. Celery Rudolphs

Reindeer celery sticks are oh so cute, and helathy too. The picture uses chocolate chips, but I generally use raisins so the snack is healthier. Whatever you have works too!

You’ll need:

• Washed and cut celery sticks
• Peanut butter (or other nut butter)
• Rasberries for Rudolph’s nose
• Raisins, chocolate chips, or cut up dates (something small for the eyes)

7. Holiday Toast

*Make this so many ways!

Toast can be much more filling and nutritous than many store-bought snacks. Plus, you can customize your toast to fit what you have and love! You’ll need:

• Whole-grain bread, toasted
• A spread: Peanut butter, cream cheese, mashed avocado or guacamole are all great bases for something fun!
• A decoration (i.e. diced veggies, fruit, mini chocolate chips, etc.)

Pro Tip: Small cookie cutters can transform ordinary fruits and vegetables into fun food for kids! They are used in many of the snacks on this list, and work perfectly to jazz up toast.

8. Cranberry Brie Bites

*Perfect holiday appetizer too

These tasty cranberry brie bites look elegant but take almost no effort. So, if you’re searching for the ultimate finger food, they’ll be your new best friend. The little two-bite wonders are buttery, gooey, and bursting with festive flavor. You’ll need:

• Crescent roll dough
• A wheel of Brie
• A can of cranberry sauce
• Nuts (optional)

9. Apple Christmas Tree

This colorful Apple Christmas Tree is so simple to make and entices the kids to eat more nutrient-rich fruit during the holiday season. It’s easy enough that the kids can help you make them too! You’ll need:

• Green apple: This is the base of the Christmas tree. The green color makes it look more like an actual tree.
• Pomegranate seeds: They look like little ornaments on the tree.
• Blueberries: Bigger ornaments. 
• Cantaloupe: Use a mini star-shaped cookie cutter to give your cantaloupe a little holiday spirit.
• Cheese: A slice of cheese cut into the shape of a star makes the perfect tree topper!
• Pretzel sticks: These make a great tree trunk, but you can use crackers too.

10. Frosty Yogurt Cups

For these fun frosty cups, decorate the cups with eyes, a carrot nose, smile and buttons and fill them up with yogurt or cottage cheese so that it resembles Frosty! You can even top them with fruit for more color and flavor.

You’ll need:

• Orange & black permanent markers
• Plain yogurt or cottage cheese
• Honey or maple syrup
• Fruit for topping

11. Christmas Snack Board

*Fancy enough for an adult party too

Snack boards are oh so fun for Christmas parties or hearty snacking when friends are over. And they allow you to try a variety of items. Use up what you have at home first to keep your board costs down.

This board includes a lot of meat and cheese, generally making it more expensive. But you can substitute additional fruits, veggies, and crackers to meet your budget needs.

Pro Tip: When making a Christmas charcuterie board, use Rosemary to make it look like evergreen branches

12. Reindeer Applesauce

*Great for kids holiday parties!

Need a store-bought Christmas treat that you can feel good about giving the kids? This Reindeer Applesauce is the perfect choice! You’ll need:

• A 4 pack of big cup cinnamon apple sauce
• Pipe cleaners
• Googley eyes
• Red jingle bells
• Plus your trusty glue gun

13. Watermelon Christmas Trees

*SUPER easy

All you need is a watermelon and a good cutting knife to make this affordable Christmas snack come to life!

14. Homemade Granola

*My kids devour this!

Sweets are everywhere, especially during the holidays. But I love knowing that this baked granola is hearty and filling.

• It’s healthier than most breakfast cereals (and store-bought granolas).
• The recipe calls for honey instead of processed sugar.
• And it can be paired with yogurt (probiotics) and berries (antioxidants).

And even though it’s a healthier option, it’s so stinking delicious. I ALWAYS double the recipe for my family of five. And it’s still gone within a week.

15. Strawberry Penguins

*Move over Santa!

These chocolate covered strawberry penguins make the cutest holiday snack! You can whip them together in 20 minutes and then leave them to dry for a delicious and festive bite to eat! All you need is:

• Strawberries
• Chocolate chips: You could chop up a bar of chocolate as well.
• Coconut oil: Melted together with the chocolate to help the chocolate coat the strawberries more smoothly.
• Candy eyeballs
• Dried apricot: When cut in small triangles, this makes the perfect beak for the penguins!

16. Christmas Tree Quesadillas

This cheap healthy Christmas snack from Eat Drink Love makes a fun lunch idea too. You’ll need:

• 1 (8-ounce) block plain cream cheese
•  4 tablespoons salsa
•  1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
•  6 fajita-sized flour tortillas
•  toothpicks
•  guacamole
•  diced red and yellow bell pepper
•  extra yellow pepper for the stars/tree topper

Add the cream cheese, salsa, and cheddar cheese to a bowl for your quesadilla filling. Mix them together until well-combined. Cook your quesadillas, cut them, and spread quacamole on one side of your quesadilla. Add your bell pepper decor.

Related:

• Tasty Christmas Dinner Sides on a Budget
• Cheap Easy Christmas Appetizers

17. Frozen Yogurt Bark

From Healthy Little Foodies, this Christmas Frozen Yogurt Bark is so easy to make and tastes delicious. All you need is:

• 2 Cups natural Greek Yogurt
• 3 Kiwi
• 5 Strawberries (chopped into small pieces)
• 1 Tablespoon dried cranberries

18. Charcuterie Kabobs

Charcuterie skewers are the classy, bite-sized upgrade your holiday spread has been waiting for. They’re colorful, customizable, and ridiculously easy to assemble.

I used the items below, but you can swap out with other things you like too!

• Skewers
• Cheddar cheese cubes
• Salami (Mine was a little bigger than I liked. Try to find these small. The bigger they are, the harder it is to put on the stick)
• Olives (no pits)
• Pickles (dill, cut into pieces)
• Mozzarella balls
• Grape tomatoes

19. Gingerbread Popcorn

This yummy recipes comes from Real Food Real Deals. Popcorn is one of the easiest, most affordable real food snacks. This maple gingerbread popcorn recipe is irresistible. It tastes like sweet gingerbread with a crunch, and it’s a breeze to make.

• 1/2 cup organic popcorn kernels generates 15 cups popped
• 3 tbs. coconut oil
• 3 tbs. maple syrup
• 3/4 tsp. ground ginger
• 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp. nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp. salt

20. Easy Christmas Snack Mix

And finally, this holiday snack mix is a perfect blend of crunchy, sweet, and savory. It’s budget-friendly and easy to whip up with pantry staples or sale items. Make it together and then give it to friends to share!

More Exciting Budget Christmas Articles

• Mason Jar Gifts Everyone Will Love
• Funny White Elephant Gifts For Less Than $10
• 50 Free or Cheap Christmas Things to Do

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