Ginger bread houses are great but they are a lot of possibly frustrating work for most toddlers and preschoolers. These ice cream cone Christmas trees are a great downsized activity that young kids can do with little help. We spent Saturday morning making these as a family, our trees turned out well and are displayed in our kitchen. You can totally tell which one was done by the man with an engineering degree can’t you?

1. Gather your materials. You will need sugar cones, a tub of icing, green food coloring, a plate for displaying , candy and a foil Santa !
2. Start by putting half the icing in a bowl and adding green food color to it.
3. Spread the green icing on your sugar cone , I was shocked at how well my little man did. Ironically he didn’t eat the icing at all, it must not be as appealing as paint.
4. Once it’s all over the cone, add the candy. Mini m&ms work the best! These my son did eat, but he managed to get some on the tree.
5. While my boys were ading the last of the candy to their trees, I spread the other half of the white icing on a rectangular plate, and added some sanding sugar to make it look like snow.
6. Add your trees to the snow and the foil Santa !
7. Find a place out of reach of kids and pets and show off your handiwork!

Books!

“Little Tree” by Chris Racshka is another awesome find. I love this book, it’s another visually amazing book and my son was much more into the pictures that are so packed full with fun details that they steal the show. The story inspired by the E.E. Cummings poem by the same name the story follows a little tree who has big dreams of becoming a Christmas tree . I think this book is great especially for children who want to know where the trees in the lots in a city come from.