My favorite explanation of this for kids is from Alton Brown. He always described them as people who reacted to the water and were “burping” out the gastrointestinal air.  That is what makes the pretzels grow. You add the heat and they really get going!

This is a recipe that I have used in the past from Sally’s Baking Addiction for soft pretzels. 

Ingredients

• 1 and 1/2 cups warm water (lukewarm– no need to take temperature but around 100°F is great)
• 2 and 1/4 teaspoons instant or active dry yeast (1 standard packet)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 Tablespoon brown sugar or granulated sugar
• 1 Tablespoon unsalted butter, melted and slightly cool
• 3 and 3/4-4 cups all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled), plus more for hands and work surface
• coarse salt or coarse sea salt for sprinkling

Baking Soda Bath

• 1/2 cup baking soda
• 9 cups water

Instructions

1. Whisk the yeast into warm water. Allow to sit for 1 minute. Whisk in salt, brown sugar, and melted butter. Slowly add 3 cups of flour, 1 cup at a time. Mix with a wooden spoon (or dough hook attached to stand mixer) until dough is thick. Add 3/4 cup more flour until the dough is no longer sticky. If it is still sticky, add 1/4 – 1/2 cup more, as needed. Poke the dough with your finger—if it bounces back, it is ready to knead.
2. Knead the dough: Keep the dough in the mixer and beat for an additional 5 full minutes or knead by hand on a lightly floured surface for 5 full minutes. If the dough becomes too sticky during the kneading process, sprinkle 1 teaspoon of flour at a time on the dough or on the work surface/in the bowl to make a soft, slightly tacky dough. Do not add more flour than you need because you do not want a dry dough. After kneading, the dough should still feel a little soft. Poke it with your finger—if it slowly bounces back, your dough is ready to rise. You can also do a “windowpane test” to see if your dough has been kneaded long enough: tear off a small (roughly golf ball-size) piece of dough and gently stretch it out until it’s thin enough for light to pass through it. Hold it up to a window or light. Does light pass through the stretched dough without the dough tearing first? If so, your dough has been kneaded long enough and is ready to rise. If not, keep kneading until it passes the windowpane test.
3. Shape the kneaded dough into a ball. Cover lightly with a towel and allow to rest for 10 minutes. (Meanwhile, it makes sense to get the water + baking soda boiling as instructed in step 6.)
4. Preheat oven to 400°F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Silicone baking mats are highly recommended over parchment paper. If using parchment paper, lightly spray with nonstick spray or grease with butter. Set aside.
5. With a sharp knife or pizza cutter, cut dough into 1/3 cup.
6. Roll the dough into a 20–22-inch rope. Form a circle with the dough by bringing the two ends together at the top of the circle. Twist the ends together. Bring the twisted ends back down towards yourself and press them down to form a pretzel shape.
7. Bring baking soda and 9 cups of water to a boil in a large pot. Drop 1-2 pretzels into the boiling water for 20-30 seconds. Any more than that and your pretzels will have a metallic taste. Using a slotted spatula, lift the pretzel out of the water and allow as much of the excess water to drip off. Place pretzel onto prepared baking sheet. Sprinkle each with coarse sea salt. Repeat with remaining pretzels. If desired, you can cover and refrigerate the boiled/unbaked pretzels for up to 24 hours before baking in step 7.
8. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until golden brown.
9. Cover and store leftover pretzels at room temperature for up to 3 days. They lose a little softness over time. To reheat, microwave for a few seconds, or bake at 350°F for 5 minutes.

 They do take some time to make and of course, if you want to Keep it Simple you can always buy these homemade versions in the freezer section of most grocery stores or at the stores listed below.

Another great treat to incorporate for the kiddos is Apple strudel with whip cream or vanilla ice cream. This recipe is easy thanks to Crazy for Crust, and it uses a staple of my childhood Pillsbury Crescent Roll Dough. (Target $3.39, WalMart $3.24).

Ingredients

• 1 can Pillsbury Crescent Rolls 8 rolls or use the Crescent Roll Sheet if you can find it
• 1 ½ cups Apple Pie Filling or from a can, use about ¾ of a can
• 1 egg
• Granulated sugar for sprinkling
• ½ cup (57g) powdered sugar
• ½ teaspoon vanilla
• 1 tablespoon apple juice

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 375°F.
• Unroll Crescent Rolls onto a large sheet of parchment paper that will fit on a cookie sheet. Press the seams together.
• Using a knife, cut strips 1” apart up and down both sides of the Crescent Roll rectangle, leaving about 3” of untouched space in the center for the filling. Place the pie filling up and down the center where there are no cuts. Wrap each slice up and over the filling, overlapping as necessary. Pinch the ends shut using the tines of a fork.
• Brush the outside of the Crescent Roll with beaten egg and sprinkle with granulated sugar. Place parchment sheet with the strudel on a cookie sheet.
• Bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown and cooked through. Cool completely before glazing.
• To make the glaze: whisk powdered sugar, vanilla, and apple juice. Drizzle over strudel, slice, and serve. Optionally, top with drizzled caramel instead of glaze.
• Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

I make my own apple filling, because it is so easy.  I simply combine:

• ¾ cup sugar
• ¼ cup flour
• ½ teaspoons nutmeg
• ½ teaspoons cinnamon
• dash salt
• 6 cups thinly sliced apples
• 2 tablespoons butter

I also serve it with whip cream or vanilla ice cream.

If you want to go more traditional, there is a great recipe at House of Nash Eats.  Of course, you could really be simple and just buy a few boxes of Pillsbury Apple Toaster Strudel and serve it with vanilla ice cream or whip cream. (WalMart $2.96).

There are a lot of other great ways to celebrate German culture beyond food. Most notably, the competitive German games like Hammer-Schlagen and Masskrugstemmen (Beer Stein holding).

If you have never heard of Hammer-Schlagen, then my friend, I am indeed sorry for you and hoping you will try this easy way to play the game. All you need is a log. Okay, that may be the hardest part of the game.  It really should be more like a tree stump that is at least a foot and a half in diameter.  The official rules, according to Hammer-Schlagen.com are:

• Each player purchases a nail to start the game
• Men use one hand only; ladies have the option of using two hands
• Grip the hammer behind the red safety line
• Must use wedge end of the hammer to strike the nail
• Wedge end of the hammer must be on the wood and touching the nail to start
• Player has one continuous swing at nail per turn, if the nail is not driven flush into the log, then the hammer is passed to the next player
• Arc of hammer swing can be no higher than the player’s ear
• If the nail bends, the player can move to any position around the table to strike the nail for their next turn, or the nail may be straightened and counted as a turn
• To win, the nail must be flush or below the surface of the wood
• No body parts or foreign objects on the table (bottles and glasses)
• The Game Master has the right to refuse play to any person before, during or after a game
• Local rules may also apply at the discretion of the game master
• "Play At Your Own Risk"
• Have A Good Time!

I can hear a few parents out there already.  I am NOT arming my child with a hammer.  I hear you; I would not put them in the hands of my nephews.  You could adapt the game if you have an old school peg screw board for kids.

It could be a way to get the kids involved by modifying the rules, such as counting how many times it takes an individual to do the whole board with one hand.

Masskrugstemmen, or Beer Stein Holding, is really as simple as it sounds. Basically, people fill a Beer Stein with German beer and hold it out straight in front of them. They cannot switch hands, lower their arm, use the other hand to support the glass, or spill any beer. Who ever lasts the longest, wins. Of course, if you are very serious about playing you can check out the official rules at www.ussteinholding.com.

Obviously, giving kids steins filled with beer is not exactly the wholesome game you want to instill in their young minds.

A couple variations you could use to incorporate kids into the fun would be to fill steins with Root Beer for older kids who can manage to not break the steins. You could have younger kids fill old coffee mugs with water or milk and hold them. I would use those mugs in the back of the cupboard that you don’t mind if they break and be outside for easy clean up.  Maybe go back to my favorite mess clean-up hack and buy a disposable table cloth for $0.97 at Walmart.

For even younger tots, perhaps fill glasses with the same amount of water for each child and have them carry it from a starting line to a finish line and whoever has the most water at the end wins.

If you want to avoid those activities altogether, a couple fun ideas would be for kids to make pretzel necklaces.

This is actually an activity that comes from Beer Festivals. Most of them have a rule in place that you can’t bring in your own food unless it is on a necklace. You should see some of the creative inventions people come up with…the rule becomes moot in some cases.

However, the traditional idea is a pretzel necklace. This could be a unique activity to get kids involved, and give them a portable snack as they play. 

Simply buy some yarn and small pretzels.  If you have little fingers I recommend Snack Factory Pretzel Crisps.  They are more manageable to use when threading onto the string.  They are at Target for $1.99 and WalMart for $3.48. My sister and friend and I made some it was super easy.  I would just make sure that you make the string safe enough so no one gets hurts.