I have recently started dealing with post-school, pre-supper fractiousness by getting the kids to “help” with the cooking. The results are not always ideal, and there is invariably a bit of pinching about who gets to sit on the worktop, but it does keep them busy and it does ensure they eat up afterwards.

The upside is that the kids think cooking is tremendous fun; the downside is that they want to do it all the time. So I’ve been looking around for recipe books, and found an adorable one called Make, Bake and Celebrate by Sarah Rowden and Joanna Vestey (Wigwam, £12.99).

Rowden is a cook and Vestey is a photographer, so the book is not just full of yummy things to make and eat, it looks delicious too. Each month has a dedicated chapter, with seasonal ideas to try, both culinary and craft-orientated. October, for example, has an excellent recipe for toffee apples, plus instructions for making the sweetest skeleton outfit you’ve ever seen. I made it for my son, aged 3, who found all the shop costumes “too scary”.

Now we’re into November which, with the emphasis on explosives, has a recipe for “whizz bang pop bangers and beans” and instructions for building a rocket. So much better than watching telly.

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