Making summer snacks for kids is so much fun because it means that you can put as much creativity as you want into each snack!

Especially for the younger ones, you get to really see their faces light up when their food has been arranged to look like an animal or a Disney character.

But even if you’re not making the summer snacks for kids, it is still fun to make snacks look like different things and it just adds a little bit of spirit into the food.

During the summer months, it is important to keep kids hydrated if they are playing outside in the sun because it is very easy to sweat all of the water away.

The summer snacks are nice to eat with a cold cup of water and may actually make you thirsty so you will need to drink water anyway.

This post is all about summer snacks for kids.

If you live in a place where the weather gets really hot during the summertime, just remember to keep in mind that kids should be drinking plenty of water and having some sugar as well.

This will help keep their energy up and they can enjoy playing out in the sun. Hopefully, they have sunscreen on too!

Depending on how many kids you’re accommodating, you can choose how much or how little detail you include.

Figuring out how much of each snack you’re making can also narrow down your options so you can make snacks that may take a little bit more time than some of the others.

When making the snack list, I had a couple of things in mind. Not only did I want these snacks to be the perfect thing to eat when taking a break from playing in the sun with friends, but I also wanted them to be easy foods that everyone can enjoy.

So these summer snacks for kids can be devoured in the kitchen after a long day at summer camp, by the side of the pool, or as a quick bite during a party.

While the main consumers in mind were children, that does not mean that any other age group is going to enjoy them less.

If you hadn’t already thought about it before, kids, and really most people at parties, tend to only eat the things that they can quickly pick up and snack on.

It is highly unlikely that people are going to want to sit down and eat a full meal while trying to talk with their friends. At least in that type of setting.

For any summer snacks you do, keep that in mind so you can have easy finger foods or individual packaging of items for guests and kids to grab and go.

In case that was all too much to read and you just want a quick summary, these are the guidelines that you should follow when making summer snacks for kids.

What To Keep In Mind:

Your snack should be easy to grab.

This means no foods like spaghetti or chicken need to be sitting down and eating or cut into pieces with a fork and knife. Unless your intention is for the kids to sit down and eat, stick to finger foods.

Hydration.

Whether you decide to keep a pitcher full of water on the snack table or display fruits and vegetables with a high water content depends on you. As long as they’re is some sort of water source that can prevent dehydration, you’re good to go.

Don’t be afraid to add some sugar.

Kids that are running around are going to be burning tons of calories and using up sugar anyway, it will help them last a little longer outside, and then when they crash, they will be calm and you won’t have a bunch of little ones running around where you don’t want them to.

This can be in the form of cupcakes or chocolate or if you want to stay on the healthier side, you can display a variety of different delicious fruits that are super sweet during the warmer months.

If you’re really worried about the kids only going for unhealthy, processed snacks, just remember that the display of the food can influence what they go for.

In other words, you could put the healthy stuff towards the front of the table or in the middle directly where their eyes will go and the sweet treats hidden towards the back, or you could just not add any sweet treats at all.

Whether you end up including sugary snacks or not, this post has something for you either way!

Now enough talking all of these summer snacks for kids up, let’s get into it!

Summer Snacks For Kids:

Trail Mix

I’m not sure about you, but it doesn’t even have to be summer for me to enjoy trail mix. You can pick it up from the store, or you can make it yourself but either way, it is absolutely delicious.

Maybe it’s the blend of salty and sweet, but even as a kid this was one of my favorite snacks to add to my lunch and it was so quick and easy for me to chow down on.

If you bring trail mix to a party, people will just grab a handful and hold it in their hand while I pick out what they want, or you could have cups on the side and that way I guess can scoop out enough and eat it as they go and talk to other people.

Little bite-sized pieces are easy to eat and as previously stated, people can talk while eating them instead of having to stand or sit in silence while finishing the snack before getting back to their conversation.

If you make your own, you can personalize every ingredient that goes into the trail mix and fit it to your likes and dislikes, or your dietary needs. Even if you just need a little bit more protein, trail mix is perfect for that!

Watermelon Juice

When thinking of summer snacks, I’m sure a lot of people think of watermelon, however, many are unaware of the wonders of watermelon juice.

It has the exact same taste as regular watermelon but without the texture. This may be the best way to enjoy watermelon for anyone who is picky about texture!

Watermelon juice is fun and different and tastes amazing when cold. It has a high water content as well, so if your kids don’t like to drink plain water, maybe they will enjoy this more!

Pretzels

Pretzels are another classic bite-sized finger food that people can eat while they chat with one another or when they have a couple of seconds to inhale a bunch of food before a game of hide and seek.

They go great in trail mix and can be added with a bunch of different ingredients and treats for a combination of different colors or you can leave them plain.

Another option is to combine the pretzels with some sort of dip like hummus, peanut butter, or chocolate fondue. You can create a lot of unique flavors with the different dips you use.

Crackers And Cheese

You can set this up in a couple of different ways: by setting up something like a charcuterie board with different types of cheese and crackers that people can match themselves, by making little sandwiches with crackers and cheese, or by melting cheese on top of the crackers and making homemade nachos.

The intensity of the weather may be the determining factor when deciding which option would be best, but if it’s not, perhaps the kids have insight into which one they would like best.

(RELATED POST: 11 Must-Have Snacks For Home)

Sugar Cookies

Moving on to our very first dessert-like summer snack! And come on, who doesn’t like sugar cookies?

Not only are these great for hot weather because they won’t melt or get damaged because of the heat, but they also are just so tasty.

There are of course some really good sugar cookies that you can buy from the store but if you want to make them at home, you can do that as well. If you decide to hand-make them, you may want to bake them the night before or the morning before it gets super hot.

With the added heat from the oven, you might get uncomfortable and sweat very quickly.

Pudding/Yogurt Cups

Putting and yogurt cups serve as a delicious and cool snack that will fill you up for quite a while.

Again, there are options at the store, but you can also make them at home. In my opinion, making them from home is the favored version because you get to add whatever you want for toppings.

If you’re trying to stay on the healthier side, yogurt would be the alternative to pudding, but they are both just as delicious and filling.

Some topping ideas are shaved almonds, other nuts, coconut, fruit like strawberries and blueberries, and chocolate chips. If any of these sound good, you may find that making it at home is worth it.

Banana Bread

Another summer snack that requires an oven. The same suggestion applies, make this at a time that it is not hot outside.

Other than that, banana bread is a super delicious snack that you can have at really any time of the year but it makes a great grab-and-go for kids.

Banana bread provides tons of nutrients and may help with a sugar craving because typically it is very sweet without including very much artificial or refined sugars.

Once it has cooled, it is very easy to handle and won’t leave much of a mess. For individual packaging, you can put each slice in a plastic bag or small, reasonable container, and that way you will also be able to control the portion sizes.

Fruit Sorbet

Although this one is more of a summer treat, it still falls under a fun idea for summer snacks for kids.

You can use popular fruits, like watermelon, raspberry, and strawberry, or you can go for something like pineapple.

This is more of a snack for a super hot summer day when you just need something to cool off. This nice cold and sweet treat. Will give you the energy you need to get through the day and keep up with the heat.

At a party, you may want to make this beforehand. Unless you buy it of course.

Homemade fruit sorbet is also a distracting task that you can ask children to help with, and many will come over to check it out if they hear they will get a sugary treat from it.

That’s about it!

Most of these summer snacks for kids, are super easy to put together, with a couple taking a bit more time if you make them from home.

But, honestly, everything tastes better, homemade anyway, so, if you do spend the time, just know the results of payoff.

Whether you are making these for a group or just for one or two, kids will love all of these snacks!

You can choose to decorate them with fun faces or leave them as is, the taste will be just as good.

Summer Snacks For Kids

Making summer snacks for kids is so much fun because it means that you can put as much creativity as you want into each snack!