It is summer time and now more than ever you’ve got the job of creating plenty of snacks and pastimes for the kids. The trouble is since it’s Summer and the kids are home all day you’ve got to start begin creative as to keep the meals and snacks interesting. Kids seem to get bored with repetition but luckily there are plenty of inexpensive ideas that even you can enjoy.

Try one of the coolest treats you’ll find all summer. Homemade banana split cups are a sweet treat. Using six ounce cups spoon one tablespoon of strawberry topping in the bottom. Slice a banana in half and insert a kabob stick into the half; place banana into cup and freeze for one hour. Spoon around one quarter of a cup of strawberry ice-cream around the banana; add one tablespoon of crushed pineapple and freeze another fifteen minutes. Add one quarter cup of vanilla ice cream around the next portion of banana; two tablespoons of chocolate topping should be added then fill the remaining portion of the cup with chocolate ice-cream. Freeze overnight and then enjoy.

The simplest treat of all time is peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Use this classic to create serving size creations with a twist. Toast four slices of the bread of your choice. Once toasted spread two slices with peanut butter and two slices with your choice of jelly. On both peanut butter slices sprinkle one teaspoon of cinnamon. Then make two individual PB & J sandwiches. On top of both sandwiches spread one with jelly and the other with peanut butter and sprinkle each with one half teaspoon of cinnamon and place them together. This will create a dual-sandwich. Slice the double sandwich with an X shape to create four wedges.

For the ultimate chocolate treat make several of these and serve at your child’s next birthday party. In a large bowl, mix two cups of chocolate pudding and one half cup of plain malted-milk powder and two cups of whipped topping, until blended. Using a muffin pan lined with ten paper muffin cups, pour Magic Shell hardening chocolate syrup to cover the bottom of each cup. Spoon the chocolate mixture evenly between the cups and place a popsicle stick in each cup. Freeze for three hours and as long as two weeks total. They’re amazing, cheap, and easy to make.