Tip of the Week: Decorative Trees Made of Chocolate Kisses

Posted in Gardening Tips on December 21 2009, by Sonia Uyterhoeven

Sonia Uyterhoeven is Gardener for Public Education.

A colleague of mine has a plaque in her office that says “Life without chocolate would be chaos and darkness.” For those of you who adhere to this philosophy, here is an easy holiday activity that is fun for the entire family.

I went to the Floral District in Manhattan on 28th Street and 6th Avenue and purchased an Oasis™ cone. Some of the vendors are strictly wholesale, while others will sell you items and simply charge you the tax if you don’t have an exemption form.

Oasis™, for the uninitiated, is a trademark name for florist foam. It generally comes in green rectangular blocks that you can cut into pieces and saturate for floral centerpiece displays. I wanted the cone, so the vendor went down into his stock room and reappeared with a 12-inch cone, which cost me $4.50. Large craft stores sell similar products. A Styrofoam cone serves the same purpose. I then picked up a box of toothpicks and two bags of Hershey’s Kisses®.

The rest was simple. I took my pruners (always a gardener at heart) and cut the toothpicks in half. I pierced one end into the Kiss and the other into the floral foam cone, starting at the top and working my way down in a spiral formation. Try and place the Kisses as close to one another as possible to create a full tree.

The colorful foil on the Kisses created a real bling, and the wrapping meant that it was hygienic. Other candies can be used. I have also seen people make trees with gumdrops, which pack neatly together, and even strawberries, which can be served with a chocolate dipping sauce.

The bottom of the cone can be placed in a small pot to camouflage the base. I placed my tree in a rectangular container that I filled with more florist foam. I then decorated the base with pine cones, ornaments, and holiday greens. The pine cones were secured with wire.

Lessons are always learned from doing. I think the next time I create this chocolate Kisses tree I will first wrap the Oasis™ cone with aluminum foil so that green patches of the foam don’t appear through the cracks. The alternative is to buy one more bag of Kisses and pack the tree tightly. Kisses are often on sale at this time of year.

The main purpose of this simple crafts project was to produce an edible decoration for the table that would thrill family and friends. The bonus is that its construction is equally enjoyable. It makes a great children’s activity that can be completed without complication in a short amount of time (under 1 hour). Have fun!