Macadamia nut Christmas traditions: play, craft and eat

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Smash!

The hammer hit the edge of the hard brown shell and it shot off in a direction to my left so fast it was hard for my eyes to follow it. I scrambled up and ran to where it had ricocheted from the porch wall. I grabbed it, sat back down in the same spot and reached for the hammer again.

Smash!

This time I hit the centre of the nut and it cracked open to reveal the white fleshy snack inside. I greedily devoured it, not worrying about germs on the pavement.

Without a second thought, I pulled another one from my pocket.

My mother regularly served Macadamia Nuts in a cane basket during Christmas. Secretly, I think it was because it kept my brother and I occupied for hours. The only time we interrupted her Christmas preparations was when one of us ran to her in tears because we hit our thumb with the hammer. We learnt quickly to keep our hands out of the way.

I buy Macadamia Nuts for our family Christmas too, except our tradition usually includes my children and I enjoyed the hearty nut together. We don’t just crack and eat them either.

Macadamia Nut crafts!

Macadamia nuts are really versatile. Place a bag of macadamia nuts on the table with a few craft items and see what your children create. Here are a few simple craft ideas to try:

Paint them!

Use acrylic paints to decorate your Macadamia Nuts.

Decorate the shells with:

• mandala style dots
• lines and patterns
• candy canes stripes
• Christmas colours
• paints that make the nuts into presents – these were perfect for crushing later. Your kids will realise that the shell is the wrapping and the fleshy part of the nut is the present inside. 
• Santa and Rudolf. I did most of this one but the girls helped me with the reindeer noses. I have a feeling these won’t be cracked though. They love them too much.

Roll them!

Roll your Macadamia Nuts around in a box. Not only will your kids adore this activity but it makes the prettiest Christmas placemat (or Christmas wrapping paper).  You can also display your painted Macadamia Nuts around the home too.

They’re so pretty they would make perfect gifts for friends and family.

Check out how much fun we’ve had with our Macadamia Nuts!

Explore different ways to crack them

With fondness, I watch my kids crack Macadamia Nuts with hammers on the pavement too but we’ve also explored other ways crack them. Try these:

• Smash them with a brick (this works!)
• Drop them from a high location (this hasn’t worked for us, yet!)
• Use a vice (this works but may take some muscle)
• Use this wonderful nutcracker. The girls absolutely love it!

Devour them!

Macadamia Nuts are a popular edible nut all over the world but did you know they are native to Australia? They’re also very good for you and your children’s health.

Full of healthy monounsaturated fats, phytochemicals, fibre, protein, vitamins and minerals, macadamias are good for your heart, digestive health, antioxidant protection and blood glucose management.  Australian-Macadamias.org

We love to eat them raw, although we also love them roasted and lightly salted.

This year, for dinner we’re trying lamb tagine with Macadamia Gremolata, and for dessert?  Caramel Nut Slice. Mmmmm!

Want to learn more about this beautiful nut and see it used in ways that you’ve never thought of before?
Check out Australian Macadamias website or follow them on Instagram or Facebook.