Background information about the origin of pretzels, and a recipe for cheesy pretzels, which you could make with small groups if you have cooking facilities

The first pretzels were made by French or Italian monks in about 610 AD, using soft dough left over from preparing unleavened bread for Lent. At that time, Christians prayed with their arms folded across their chests, with each hand on the opposite shoulder. The story goes that a young monk decided to twist the leftover dough into the 'crossed arms' shape and give it to children as a reward for reciting their prayers. He called this treat 'pretiola', which is Latin for 'little reward'. Tell this story to the children before making pretzels.