Your Christmas Party Guests Will LOVE This DIY Doughnut Tree

This DIY donut tree is a fun and yummy recipe that everyone at your Christmas party will adore! With simple ingredients and easy steps, you can make this quickly and on a budget. It’s the perfect kids’ activity to keep little hands busy when you’re prepping for the holidays, too!

Looking for more Christmas or holiday party ideas? Check out the best holiday punch, these DIY candy Christmas trees, and the 25 most popular Christmas appetizers.

Let’s get this out of the way first– the interwebs can’t agree on whether to spell it ‘doughnut’ or ‘donut’. So I’ve used both spellings interchangeably so I don’t upset Google because we use that word a lot in this post. 🙂 Now that’s that’s out of the way…

I seriously am having trouble believing we are so close to Christmas! Maybe I should get my act together and wrap some of these presents. Ha!

I must say, though, I really do enjoy holiday parties. It’s a chance to get all dressed up and do what’s obviously most important at parties – eat. With SO much on my mind around the holidays, I often compartmentalize tasks and that means sometimes the fact I promised to bring some delicious treat to a holiday party sneaks up on me… which means I end up waiting until the last minute to make something. Oops!

No worries. This is the perfect Christmas party treat for classroom or church parties, Christmas morning, Christmas brunch or really any time around the holidays.

I’ve made this DIY donut tree before for Christmas parties in the past and they’re always a hit. The good news about donuts is they really are a universal food. What a time to be alive, you know? I mean, who doesn’t love a little powdered donut for brunch? Or lunch? Or second lunch? Or a midnight snack?

And since it’s the holidays, we all know the calories don’t really count, right?

They’re small so if you want just a taste of something sweet, it can satisfy that or you can just have 4 of them. Not that I’ve done that or anything. From little kids to adults, these little white powdered donuts are good no matter how you slice them. But who slices donuts?

They even have gluten-free donuts (I’ve found them in the freezer section of Whole Foods.) Check to make sure the frosting and candy are gluten-free too, sprinkle with some powdered sugar, and you can make this for those who suffer with gluten intolerance like I do.

Christmas Doughnut Tree Video

Here’s a quick video on how to make the holiday doughnut tree, with the step-by-step instructions below:

 Tips for Making the Donut Tree

• You can use either mini donuts or donut holes, the tree will look a little different if you make a donut hole tree but both work for this recipe!
• The number of donuts you use will depend on the size of the cone you use. We usually get about 3 dozen and then replenish the tree midway through the party as it gets eaten. 🙂
• There’s several types of candy you can use for the ‘ornaments’ such as holiday colored M&Ms (place with the printed side down), large sprinkles, skittles, mini-gumdrops, whatever you can find. Target has some great candy in their holiday aisle.

How to Make a DIY Donut Tree

Materials & Ingredients

large styrofoam cone or sturdy cardboard cone

tub of creamy frosting (do not use the whipped or cream cheese variety, they don’t ‘stick’ as well)

mini powdered doughnuts such as Hostess ‘Donettes’

knife for spreading

toothpicks

small holiday colored candy for decorating the ‘tree’

frosting piping bag with star tip

Directions

Step 1:

Using the knife, cover the entire cardboard or foam cone with frosting and then place upright on your work surface or a plate. The frosting acts like glue to keep the donuts in place, but we’ll be adding toothpicks as well to be on the safe side.

Step 2:

Starting at the bottom of the cone, add a toothpick and then a donut on top of it. Keep adding toothpicks/doughnuts around the bottom one at a time until you’ve finished that row. Then, do the same for the row above and keep going until the entire tree is filled with rows of delicious donuts.

Step 3:

Fill the piping bag with a star tip and then the frosting. Pipe a ‘star’ between each doughnut and one on the top. Add candy to the frosting stars and donuts.

I went for the classic red and green look, but you could try all blue jelly beans for a more modern twist.

Step 4:

Place on a pretty dish or serving platter, and enjoy!
Just be carful trying to transport your new creation. If you don’t have a solid container, wrapping loosely in foil will provide a bit of protection.

The best part is the kiddos can help make this, turning it into a kids’ activity to keep them occupied on snowy days or during their holiday break.

The hardest part is trying not to eat it as you go!

But if you have the self control to complete your donut Christmas tree, it will stand out against the sea of sugar cookies at your next holiday party.

Isn’t that such a fun Christmas party food idea?
If you make it, let me know how it goes. I want to see pics of your donut trees!