Edible Christmas Tree Decorations

[Oola]

Following on from sunflower's other thread, does anyone here make edible Christmas decorations? If so I'd love to find out more as I really need to spruce my tired old tree decorations up a bit this year, but am on a really low budget!

[keepersdaughter]

Gingerbread men and women, or a basic cookie dough and cut into shapes like snowmen, reindeer, different shapes and decorated with dragees, coloured or just plain white icing would be attractive. Look for things in the garden from nature, pine cones, crab apples, nuts, etc. tied with ribbons.

Decorating the tree has always been fun for us. I've saved the children's bits and pieces of artwork thru. the years and each year they come out, a little older, torn and worn, but very special. Little cinnamon sticks, pipe cleaners made to look like reinder etc. Thru. the years whenever we visit somewhere I try and find something small that I can hang on the tree - it's a lovely reminder of 'oh, do you remember when we went here' and all sorts of memories or funny stories pop up.

I'll look thru. my cookbooks and see what recipes or ideas I can can up with (may not be for a few days though).

[jazzactivist]

A Hungarian neighbour when I was a child used to tie nicely wrapped sweets all over her Christmas tree, and now if I have a tree I do the same. Andy and I also used to have a tradition of making chocolates for the tree in Christmas Eve - big home made truffles are good, tied up individually in squares of coloured foil like a present and then hung on the tree. They don't cost much to make, look good, and taste fab. Last year we decided not to do Christmas and gave the money to charity instead, but I feel a bit of Christmas coming on this year - it must be this forum!

[Redstart]

Make small biscuits and before baking make a hole with a knitting needle or wahtever for the ribbon later. Gingerbread biscuits cut in star or moon shapes and with white icing decorations look very good.

You can also decorate nuts (the shells that is) or string together popcorn, sweets or whatever as tinsel.

[sunflower]

I love fir cones placed on the christmas tree branches, and if you can get some, holly berries placed on the tree look lovely. Of course you could use glace cherries, sticky I know but maybe put them on Christmas eve morning. You know you can buy the cooking chocolate. If you get a plastic mould, you can make your own chocolates.

[SummerSkye]

I make biscuits as per Redstart's post, the children all love eating them. Also buy large paks of boiled sweets and glue the ends together to make chains . Popcorn can also be strung together and used the same way. I buy striped candy canes from a discount shop for about $2 and add them for colour. Bags of chocolate "coins" wrapped in brightly coloured metal paper are bought from the same store, thread cotton through with a needle and hang on the end of branches.