Christmas Tree Cookies ~ Preschool Christmas Activities
Christmas Book Activities For Kids - The Tale of the Three Trees
Have I got a Christmas treat for you today!
Are you familiar with the children's Christmas book, "The Tale of the Three Trees"?
Let me tell you - this is one adorable book. Probably one of my very favorite Christmas books for kids.
You can buy this book in bookstores all over. You can also order it in on Amazon. This is a great book to add to any Christmas library.
But for purposes of time, I am going to drop the embedded YouTube version of this book here. That way you can read this book with your kids right now. And then we can jump right into the fun Christmas activity for preschoolers that surrounds this awesome book.
Read The Tale of the Three Trees
"The Tale of the Three Trees" is a story about three little trees who live on the top of a hill.
Each of these little trees has a dream of what they want to grow up to become.
The first tree wants to become a grand treasure chest filled with the grandest and most valuable treasure known to man.
The second tree wants to become a strong sailing boat that is important enough to carry the greatest of kings and queens ever to walk the earth.
The third little tree doesn't want to be cut down. She dreams of staying on that hilltop forever and growing grand and tall. She wants to grow so tall that when others look to her, they look to Heaven.
Well, time goes by, and eventually, each tree is chopped down.
To his dismay, the first tree is not turned into a grand treasure chest but is instead turned into a trough for animal feed.
The second tree is disappointed when he is turned into a lowly fishing ship and not a big, strong sailing boat.
And sadly, the third tree is turned into a wooden beam and thrown into a woodpile, forgotten and alone.
And you will have to read the story to find out what happens to these trees next...but let me tell you - it is a tear-jerker! (Seriously - I cry every time I read this book. Or even just re-tell it! I'm such a softie.)
Making Star Trees as a Fun Christmas Book Activity for Preschoolers
So what are we doing with our preschoolers today to make reading this fun Christmas book even more fun?
Why, we're making Christmas TREES, of course!
4D Sugar cookie Christmas trees. Don't these look so fun?
I know it looks complicated, but really, these stacked Christmas trees aren't that hard to make.
First, you'll want to start with your favorite sugar cookie recipe.
You're welcome to download it if you like.
But really, you can use any rolled recipe you want.
Making these stacked sugar cookie trees is a beloved Christmas activity at our house. In fact, we do it almost every year!
Star Tree Cookie Instructions
Gather your kiddos together and do some fun baking. Mix, refrigerate, and roll, and you're ready for the next step!
Next, you'll want to cut your dough into various sized stars.
There are kits available that you can buy. These kits are nice to use because they make the stars uniform and spaced out nicely, which makes them easier to stack. But if you have a couple of star-shaped cookie cutters in varying sizes, that will work nicely as well.
Cut your dough out, making sure each child has a star of each size. You might want to cut out a few spares in case any get broken. (Or eaten!)
Bake your cookies according to your recipe's instructions. You can read your new Christmas book while you wait for them to cool!
Once they have cooled completely (this is important!) you can get to stacking!
Give each child a star of each size and have them organize the stars in order from smallest to largest.
Take the biggest star and put some delicious frosting on top. (I always use store-bought frosting for this.) Then take the next largest star and place it on top, but kind of off-centered so the 5 points of the star are sitting in the middle of the bigger cookie's points.
Now frost that cookie and top it with the next-largest star.
And so on.
When you've reached the smallest cookie, you can either stick it flat or stick it so it is standing upright. Whichever is easiest for you.
Decorating Your Star Trees
Now you can add other decorations to your star, as desired! Edible pearls, nerds, and MNM's all work nicely for this part. Or you can just use regular sprinkles!
While you are making your tree, you can talk about the book you just read and how each of the trees had their dreams fulfilled in surprising and unexpected ways!
Leave your star trees to enjoy for a few days, or eat them right away.
Either way, this is a fun Christmas activity your kids can enjoy year after year!
And if you don't own this fun Christmas book yet, wouldn't it be a great Christmas gift idea for your kids? (We usually like to include a lot of non-toy Christmas gifts for our kids.)
About The Author
Charlene Hess spent many years teaching kids before she had her own kids. She now has 7 kids of her own, whom she has been homeschooling for the last 10 years. Charlene still teaches other children outside of her home but finds great joy in exploring the world with her family. Charlene has participated in many leadership trainings with John C. Maxwell. Charlene and her husband blog about their homeschooling and parenting adventures over at https://hessunacademy.com.
Christmas Book Activities For Kids - The Tale of the Three Trees
Happy Educating,
Carla
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