Holiday Fun For Kids – Gingerbread Christmas Trees

I am so excited for the kids to be on Christmas break.  A week of family time, fun, lots of pj wearing and activities with the kids.  Here is a great preschool friendly activity to do with the kids while they are home on break that will really get them in the holiday spirit.  Gingerbread Christmas trees made from sugar cones take seconds to set up and frost so the kids can decorate them however they want.  An assortment of candies and sprinkles make this a simple, and ultra kid friendly, gingerbread project that will keep there attention just long enough for them to finish the job.  If you have little ones – try these fun gingerbread Christmas trees.

Making gingerbread houses is one of those things that I have had on the holiday to do list since my kids were very small.  But…something about the whole process seemed a little terrifying with toddlers involved.  I always had a nice vision of us sitting around the table as a family putting it all together and decorating it just right.  Then my mind would wonder to how it would really turn out.  The house would probably not stick together, and as I was trying to fix it the kids would be crying because I broke it and eating all of the candy for decorating by the handful.  Then by the time it was ready to decorate the kids would no longer be interested, and there I would sit doing it by myself with what little candy was left.  Well..we never really attempted it because of my vision, so I can’t say how it really would have turned out, but here is a fun little project that we did this week to ease ourselves into the gingerbread making process that I wanted to share.

We made gingerbread Christmas trees using waffle cones, some prepackaged frosting, and all the sprinkles that the kids desired.  My kids both at ages 5 and 3 thought that this was the best holiday project we have ever done, and I am thrilled that they enjoyed it so much.

I originally spotted this idea on Pinterest (from Pigtails and Tutus) and added it to our Advent activity list.  The kids were excited about the idea and I loved how simple it was to put together!  I hadn’t originally planned on writing a post about this, but we had so much fun doing it that it is totally worth sharing!

All you need is:

• A container of ready made holiday (green) frosting
• Waffle Cones (with a flat top)
• assorted candies and sprinkles

The process was simple and so fun for the kids.  The didn’t find it a bit frustrating or loose their interest at all, in fact it was really fun and relaxing for them, and for me too.  If you have your kids home over holiday break from school – this would be a great little activity to do with them no matter what their age!

I first gathered all of my supplies and gave each child a portion.  I hoped to keep them from dumping an entire package of sprinkles on one tree by putting a few of each type of sprinkles on a tray for them.  That worked for a while, but something about a three year old and shaking sprinkles out of a container seems to fill their heart with delight, so we went with it.  I spread a small amount of frosting on a dessert plate and set the cone in it to help stabilize it for decorating.  Then the kids each got a tub of frosting and went to town covering the waffle cones.  I did help get the whole cone covered, but they did a great job.  Then the kids were free to go crazy decorating with candy until the trees were just right in their little eyes.  Each tree got it’s own plate for decorating and then I removed them when they were finished.

They turned out really cute, and the kids were very proud of their trees when they were all finished.  I really would recommend this as a great grade school or preschool project to do with your kids because it was so simple and fun for my kids!  My favorite part was that it was so easy to organize and put together.  It caused no stress for me, and I really enjoyed watching them decorate their trees to perfection with little smiles plastered to their faces.  Fast, fun, easy, and inexpensive!  I hope you give this a try this holiday and that your kids love it too!