Surprise your little one with a #DIY Schultute for back to school #CreativeHop

It’s almost back to school time, hard to believe a few short weeks and the first bell will ring. Time sure is flying. With that said, it’s also time for our monthly #CreativeHop to share some fun crafts, recipes and ideas and this month our theme is all about Back to School. I spend some time thinking about what to share with you, while I really didn’t want to think about back to school, but I had to face reality and being prepared for the first day is not a bad thing either, right?

In Germany we have this fun and very old school tradition, that each child who enters 1st Grade (in Germany 1st grade is equivalent to Kindergarten here) will receive a sugar cone or also known as schultute. Each year parents will create a fun cone filled with wonderful goodies to make the start into the school age a little sweeter for the kids. It’s such a fun tradition and I even have fond memories of my very own Schultute. It was pink with bears or some kind of “design” and blue top with ribbon. The ones in Germany are very elaborate, Moms and grandparents spend hours if not days making the perfect sugar cone for their offspring to show off in school the day they start 1st Grade.

It’s fun to see all the 1st graders walking down the street with their cones, they present them in school and the best part is once you return home, share your experiences with the entire family who is eagerly waiting in the kitchen to hear about your day, you get to open the sugar cone and the anticipation is finally over, finally you get to see all the goodies that are inside your beloved cone. Some moms are more traditional, some are not, just like here everyone is different, everyone’s individual likes but the best part, it’s perfect for every child.

I decided to share a how to with you so you can start this fun tradition with your kids, too. Each of my kids got their very own Schultute the day they started Kindergarten and now each year they get a small version just to make it fun, I even make a small one for the teachers, which is a total surprise to them and always fun to share our traditions with our school.

I picked up all my items at Target the other day, it’s really nothing special, you could look at the Dollar Store, Party store or maybe even in your closet craft supplies. All you need is this:

• 1 strip of wrapping paper about 16.5 inches and the length (or width whatever you wanna call it) of your wrapping paper
• 2-3 sheets of tissue paper
• Tape (lots of tape)
• Décor items, stickers, ribbon anything you like
• a small ribbon to tie the top
• Duck Tape

This is how to make the Schultute:

Simple as that, really isn’t hard to do. Just turn your paper into a cone, similar to a party hat and tape away, use lots of tape to keep it together. For the Tissue paper top I used duck tape to tape the tissue paper around the top, that’s it. So simple!!

This is what I filled my Schultute with this year, simple items that my daughter will be able to use during the school year. Traditionally the schultute gets filled with school supplies, candy, small games, coloring books, anything your child likes and fits is a go. My own schultute had socks and underwear as well. Back in the day it was a gift that was suppose to be useful all school year long and I don’t know why I always got socks and underwear for almost every occasion, I did spare my daughter socks in her schultute, unless it’s a funny pair or something.

Your little one will love it and be totally surprised when you hand it to them. It’s a lot of fun to see their eyes light up. Such a fun tradition and I love sharing it with everyone I know. My way of sharing my German heritage with all my American friends.

If you like to make a giant Schultute, the size that is usually used in Germany, you just pick up a cardboard poster (the very thin ones they are about $0.49 at Target) and wrap it in your favorite wrapping paper and then follow the same steps, you will get a giant sugar cone to hand to your child the day of school. The big cones I usually fill with fun stuff like water bottles, lunch boxes, stuff the kids can use during the year at school as well as school supplies, sweet treats, cookies anything your little one likes.

Wasn’t this fun? Such a great tradition and perfect for my back to school #CreativeHop, be sure to check out what all the other bloggers have to share for Back to School, lots of awesome ideas to make the start to a new year a lot easier for you.

• Baked Eggs in Portobello Mushroom Caps from Confessions of an Overworked Mom
• Free Behavior Charts Printable from A Mom’s Take
• DIY Pen / Pencil Cup Holder from Mom Does it All
• Teacher Survival Kit from My So Called Balanced Life
• DIY Homework Station from Home and Garden Cafe
• No Mess Glitter Composition Book from How Was Your Day
• Personalized Pencil And Art Supplies Cup from Our Family World
• Mango Overnight Oatmeal by Upstate Ramblings
• 7 School Lunches to Pack Beyond the Sandwich from MommaDJane
• Out of the Blue College Gift Basket from Simply Southern Mom
• Fabulous Back To School DIY Notebook Covers from My Kid’s Guide
• Monogrammed Trinket Dish from Style on Main
• American Girl Accessories Notebooks from This Mama Loves

Do you have any fun Back to School traditions or ideas? Would love to hear them, leave me a comment below.