Being from Germany, we have a lot of different traditions then the US. The Schultüte is one of my favorite back to school tradition. In Germany on the first day of Pre-K and then again on the first day of School, our school starts with 1st Grade, here it would be Kindergarten, each student gets a HUGE cone called Schultüte from their parents or Grandparents. Each Schultüte is filled with goodies like School supplies, pencils, colors, candy, toys and yes even underwear and socks. I was the lucky one who got underwear and socks..lol. I was 6 and remember like it was yesterday. Unfortunately I have no picture and so wished I had one.
This year I decided to make my Toddler her version of the Schultüte , since she will be starting Pre-K 3 this year. We are super excited and she can’t wait to go to school. Our Pre-K is actually inside the Elementary school, so she thinks she is really a BIG Girl now.
This is sooo simple to make, took me about 20-30 minutes and I can’t wait till she heads of to school next week …. well… Yes I can, just can’t wait to see her with the cone and her new outfit and back bag…. My Baby Girl is growing up so fast.
If you are sending someone off to school this year, surprise them with a Schultüte, I bet even someone going off to College would get a kick out of this. You can personalize to color, taste and of course goodies that the recipient likes. I do guarantee, this will be something that EVERYONE will remember.
This is what you need:
1 large cardboard or display board ( Target has them for $.35 each)
1 roll of wrapping paper – your choice
1 pack of Tissue paper ( maybe two packs if you like different colors, your choice)
Tape or glue or staples ( I used tape and worked great, but whatever is easier)
scissors
Goodies to fill your Schultüte
This is how to make it:
- Take the display board and cut off one corner, so you have a straight line, about 3-4 inches from the corner
2. Take the cardboard and wrap it into your wrapping paper, just like you would wrap a book. Tape down each side, really good. I taped down the entire side one each.
3. Now it’s time to roll your cardboard into a cone, take one corner and just roll it, don’t roll the top too tight, tape the seem together with tape a few pieces at first to hold the “cone” in place and then I taped the entire seem to make sure it will stay in place very well. By now your cone is really sturdy.
4. I also taped the inside seams, any that I could reach with tape, so they won’t come apart if the cone is being carried around and filled with goodies. I know, I got a bit Tape happy, but really was super easy.
5. This is what the almost finished Schultüte looks like.
6. Time to add the tissue paper, I took two sheets and taped them on the inside of the cone and two sheets on the outside of the cone, some people like to staple them or double sided tape, whatever works best for you. I actually folded the paper for the outside, about 1 inch or so and taped that part to the cone and then folded the rest over, so you can’t see the tape on the outside, but really doesn’t make a difference how you get it on there.
7. Fill your Schultüte with any goodies that you think your recipient would like and need. Since my Toddler is starting Pre-K and needed water bottles and she loves coloring supplies, that’s what I’ve added to hers. I actually found all these things in the Dollar Isle at our party City Store. I had no idea they had such a HUGE Dollar Isle.
8. Add some ribbons and tie the top of your Schultüte …. wait for the first day of school to roll around and watch your little ones surprise and of course take pictures!!!! I remember we got our Schultüte right before we headed of to School and carried it all the way to school, had it in front of us on our desk and then carried it all the way home and finally was allowed to open it. That’s how our tradition goes. My Toddler will not take it to school, because they aren’t allowed to bring it, but she will get her goodies when she comes home as well. 
Happy First day of school to everyone, would love to hear some of your Back to School Traditions…. Oh and of course these cones can be made in a smaller version as well.
Megan G says
Oh my gosh! That is way to cute. My niece isn’t starting school until next year, so I better remember this then. I think it would also be super cute for a birthday or even Christmas. Thanks for sharing this, I wish I had a reason to try it right now =P
Jennifer J says
I love this idea! My oldest is starting preschool in a few weeks and I know he’d go crazy for this! What a fun tradition to get started. Thanks!
CrazyMom says
Jennifer.. this would be sooo much fun for your little one, 🙂 glad I could help share some tradition
Alicia Taylor says
I had never heard of this. Such a cute idea! You have an adorable child too! Mine is a curly headed girl, as well.
CrazyMom says
Thanks Alicia… glad I could teach you something new…. :0)
Angela Michels says
This is such an adorabe idea! It would also be a perfect container for all those little gifts at Christmas, or you could make them for Easter too! If you made the bottom orange and the top green, it would look like a giant carrot! 🙂
CrazyMom says
I know Angela; can be used for soo many different occasions… :0)… have fun creating them.. would love to see pic’s if you make them :0)
Maryann D. says
This is a wonderful tradition and I am sure any child would love a Schultüte. What fun to make and I am sure it is exciting for a child to see all the supplies and also terrific to get them excited for school.
Sandy VanHoey says
what a great idea! I love this idea and never heard of it before.
Michelle D. says
I love hearing about new traditions and cultures and I love this! Thanks so much for sharing 🙂
Hannah says
Hey 🙂 i’m a german nanny here in the states and i want to do this for my nannykid too. But i dont get the first step of how to cut the cardboard…would you mind explaining it to me a little more? Im sorry haha but i want it to be perfect and i really feel stupid because i cant figure it out from your picture… thank you for this tutorial and its great that you hang on to those german traditions. I love them too!!!!
Melanie Roberts says
Hi hannah, thanks for keeping the traditions alive as well. And don’t feel stupid it can be a bit tricky on how to “roll” the paper; just take one corner and roll it against the other corner so one end will be a cone, small on the end and big opening on the top; that’s all. Doesn’t have to be perfect you can hide any unevenness with paper and decor, staple it all together if you like makes it easy, too. Just practice with a piece of paper just roll roll the long side corner to corner into a cone.. it’s hard to describe but I’m sure once you start you will see the cone shape… good luck and feel free to share your creations on my Facebook page
Kate says
Thank you so much for this post! I’ve actually used it for the past three years 🙂 I’m an American non-native German-speaker trying to raise my two boys to be bilingual. I love including traditions from overseas, too. And this is such a fun one!
Thanks for the great instructions!
Jennifer says
Great idea! Every year I look for something new to kick off our homeschool year. As my boys have gotten older, some of the cute things aren’t age-appropriate anymore…they’re teenagers. ? But this can be adapted for any age. I love it! Will do this tonight…they’ll be thrilled. Thank you!
Charity L. says
I am loving this idea! I always look for something new to surprise my kids with on the the first day of school and I am going with this cool project this year. Now, I must shop for supplies and goodies. Thank you!