Edible Christmas Craft Ideas for Children

Use candy canes in edible craft projects.Lew Robertson/Brand X Pictures/Getty Images

For a sweet Christmas project, create an edible Christmas craft. Youngsters may be tempted to snack on the craft supplies, so make sure to bring a little extra. When finished, the projects make ideal Christmas gifts for the children to give to parents, grandparents or special family members or friends.

Candy Ornaments

Make Christmas-themed edible ornaments by strategically gluing together wrapped pieces of candy. Use two wrapped candy canes as runners for a sleigh. Turn a roll of Lifesavers into a Christmas train by adding peppermint candy wheels, and an upside down candy Kiss as the smoke stack. Use a square piece of wrapped caramel as the cab of the train. Transform a wrapped candy cane into a reindeer by gluing on felt antlers, goggle eyes and a red pompom nose. Make a wreath Christmas tree ornament by gluing five round peppermints together, to form a wreath shape. Turn round suckers into the heads of elves or Santa by adding a felt hat and google eyes.

Prepare a fondue pot with dipping chocolate and have the youngsters dip plastic spoons into the warm chocolate and lay them on a piece of waxed paper to dry. Decorate the chocolate spoons while the chocolate is still warm and soft by topping with red and green sprinkles, small pieces of Christmas candy or miniature marshmallows. When the chocolate dries, wrap up each spoon in clear cellophane and a decorative ribbon to give as gifts. Use the spoon as a sweet snack or for stirring and flavoring coffee or hot milk. Instead of plastic spoons, pick up some interesting-looking silverware spoons at the thrift shop.

Make a candy bouquet by artfully arranging a selection of wrapped Christmas candy. Use the finished project as a table centerpiece or in place of a candy bowl. Get creative with the vase. It might be a basket, an actual flower vase or a coffee mug. Fit a piece of foam into the center of the vase, as a place to insert candy canes or Christmas candy on a stick. Decorate the arrangement with small Christmas ornaments.

The classic edible Christmas craft is the gingerbread house, in which a house is fashioned from sheets of gingerbread and decorated with Christmas candy, held in place with stiff frosting. If you aren't a baker, create a mock-gingerbread house using graham crackers instead of gingerbread.