These DIY candy Christmas trees make perfect Christmas party treats as well as festive holiday snacks. You can even give them as homemade gifts. Plus, they’re among the easiest candy christmas tree ideas out there and are a fun kids’ activity to keep little hands busy during your holiday parties and events!
If you’re looking for more Christmas and holiday party ideas, check out the 25 Most Pinned Christmas Appetizers and 20 Delicious Christmas Morning Breakfast Ideas.
Years ago I saw a segment on a morning show where they used chocolate candy and sprinkles to make the cutest little candy Christmas trees and I always wanted to give it a try. We figured out how to recreate it for a festive and fun hands-on party idea that doubles as decor for your table!
Not only are they totes adorbs, but you can keep your little ‘elves’ busy and use this as a kids’ activity leading up to the holidays. Your ‘helpers’ will love making these with you and arranging them on party trays or handing out as DIY gifts.
The video shows the process and makes it really easy to figure out, but I’ve added a recipe with instructions if you keep scrolling.
How to Make Candy Christmas Trees
Tips for Making the Candy Christmas Trees
- It’s helpful to have all the candy unwrapped before starting so you can add the frosting and quickly build each tree. It’s a great job to assign to a kiddo!
- Hands-down one of my favorite kitchen hacks of all time are these parchment paper sheets. There’s no cutting required and they lay flat, so you can grab them one-handed and lay them down. Foods comes right off mess-free. They’re perfect for projects like this!
- We used this cookie icing as ‘glue’; it’s easy to use and no heating is required. You can also use candy melts instead, but it adds an extra step and is a bit messier.
- When placing the candies on top of one another, you’ll stack them with the bottom side down for each and every piece:
5. When you add the green icing, drizzle it vertically up and down the trees to look like ‘branches’:
Printable Recipe for Candy Christmas Trees
You can click the little printer icon in the corner to print if you wish!
- 12 regular sized Reese's Peanut Butter cups
- 24 small sized Reese's Peanut Butter cups
- 12 Hershey kisses
- tube of green frosting
- tube of chocolate frosting
- sprinkles
- parchment paper (optional)
- Line a tray with parchment paper and unwrap all of the candies.
- Add the small sized Reese's cups (bottom side down) to the tray, at least 2" apart.
- Add a dollop of chocolate frosting to the top of each, and cover with a regular sized Reese's cup.
- Add a dollop of chocolate frosting to the top of each regular sized Reese's cup, and top with a small Reese's cup.
- Add one last dollop of chocolate frosting on top of that, and top with a Hershey's kiss.
- Drizzle green frosting up and down the sides of each 'tree', and quickly add sprinkles before it dries.
- Let the frosting dry and serve!
Aren’t they the cutest?! I love that kids can help make them and they’re delicious as well. This would be such a fun holiday party activity to keep little ones occupied!
Hi Carrie,
Hope this doesn’t seem weird but I just noticed your last name is Higgins. That is also my maiden name. I assume that is your married name and if so, could I ask where your in-laws and grand in-laws are from? I don’t see the Higgins name that often and when I do, I’m always curious.
Merry Christmas
June Higgins Wozniak9
Hi! Yes, it’s my married name. I don’t know too much about their history but I do know the past 2 generations of Higgins in my family lived in central PA. I will say it was fun traveling to Ireland this summer with that name! I did a little digging and supposedly the Higgins name comes from the Sligo area of Ireland.