Teachers Gifts #2: Candy Trains

As a kid, I loved to make candy trains for the holidays. It became a tradition in our home. This year, however, was the first year that my kids got to experience the holiday tradition. Why? Because I looked at their Halloween stash and knew we had to come up with a good way to get rid of all the candy. No worries, though. If your kids have already devoured their stash, you can easily pick up a few packs of candy at the store and start a tradition your kids will love.

Needed Materials

• 5 snack size candy bars per train (any variety works, but Butterfinger and Nut varieties are harder to work with)
• round candies for wheels (m&ms, smarties, lifesavers, sweettarts, etc.)
• Any other variety of candy for decorations
• Cardboard cut approximately 3 X 15 inches and covered in tin foil
• 1 recipe Royal Frosting (see below)

Royal Frosting:

• 3 egg whites
• 1 lb. powdered sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar

Beat ingredients together on high speed until frosting forms tall peaks, about 10 minutes. Fill frosting tube with 1/3 of the frosting. Cover remaining frosting with a damp cloth. Note: This frosting hardens when exposed to air, so be sure to keep the tube covered with a damp cloth whenever you're not using it. Also, you'll want to make it right before you start building your trains. Yield: one recipe made 15 trains for us.

Once you've got all your supplies, you're ready to get started.

Step 1: Using the frosting, create a train track on the cardboard.

Step 2: Place candy bars on the track. Place the first candy bar vertically to represent an engine. If you'd like, you can place frosting between the cars or even frosting with an M&M between each car to represent the couplings between cars. Remember, your frosting is meant to be used like you would use glue.

Step 3: Use frosting to attach wheels to each car.

Step 4: Decorate to your heart's content. The sky's the limit here. Get creative and have fun. Tootsie rolls stacked in a pyramid shape work great for a log car. Lollipops decorated like Santa are fun to place behind the engine. Candy canes can be shaped into hearts or sleigh rails. If you can imagine it, you can build it. Have fun!

No matter what, the finished product is always a hit!