schultuete.jpgTip of the Week - Start a New Tradition for the First Day of School!

I recently read about a charming tradition practiced in Germany on the first day of school and couldn’t wait to share it with Busy Bee readers!  Children in Germany actually look forward to the start of the school year because they know they’ll be greeted that morning with a Schultuete, or sugar cone, which is an oversized paper cone filled with fun school supplies, candy and small toys!

This custom dates back to about 1810 when the sugar cone was filled only with sweets, but little trinkets like pencils, crayons and erasers are more popular today.  Vintage photographs depict school children holding sugar cones that were as big as they were, overflowing with all sorts of gifts!

Busy parents like us can create our own version by forming a cone from a sheet of poster board and covering it with colorful wrapping paper.  You can decide just how big you’d like the cone to be (and in turn how many things you’ll need to fill it!) by adjusting the size of the poster board!  Tissue paper tucked into the top of the sugar cone is the finishing touch!

Some clever ideas for filling a sugar cone for your child include:

And lastly, if getting crafty just isn’t for you, Chasing Fireflies offers a premade and prefilled colorful fabric cone!  There’s one for boys and one for girls and the included trinkets are cute, fun and useful! (chasing-fireflies.com, $68)

Consider introducing  your children to this very sweet tradition this September and be prepared for some very happy kids who will actually celebrate the first day of school!

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