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The holiday season is a whirlwind of activities, from decorating and shopping to attending festive gatherings. With so much happening, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed by the endless to-do lists and growing expenses. That’s why I’m all about finding simple and affordable ideas for school Christmas favors that don’t add to the holiday hustle.
Instead of bundling stationaries and snacks into traditional goody bags, I’m going for something easy, affordable, and with a touch of Christmas magic.
1. Choose the Perfect Snack Cups
For this particular favor idea, you will need to use the disposable clear snack cups with lids. A 5.5 oz size works wonderfully for children in elementary school, offering just the right portion without being overwhelming. These cups are lightweight, convenient, and provide a blank canvas for your creativity. The lids close tightly, ensuring the snacks won’t fall out during transit, and they make it easy for little ones to hold and enjoy their treats.
2. Bring Characters to Life with Decorations
Now it’s time to add some magic! Use Sharpies or any permanent markers in a variety of colors to decorate the cups with festive Christmas characters. The designs can range from simple to intricate, depending on your time and skills.
Here are some character ideas I’ve done:
- Santa Claus: Add a black belt with a gold buckle to represent Santa’s iconic outfit.
- Snowman: Stick on googly eyes and a blue pom-pom for a fun, three-dimensional snowman.
- Christmas Tree: Use green markers to outline a tree shape, then add ornaments by dotting different colors. This example I’ve used chalk markers, which provide vibrant and bright colors.
- The Grinch: Draw a mischievous face and attach googly eyes for extra flair.
- Rudolph the Reindeer: Highlight Rudolph’s famous red nose with a pom-pom to make the design pop.
If you don’t have permanent markers, chalk markers are a great alternative, as they adhere well to plastic and come in vibrant colors. Avoid regular markers, as they don’t show up clearly on the slick plastic surface.
For attaching embellishments like googly eyes and pom-poms, double-sided tape works best for a mess-free solution. Liquid glue tends to take too long to dry and may cause decorations to slide. If you have a glue gun, it’s a quick and sturdy option.
3. Fill with Festive Snacks
The final step is to add the snacks, which double as a delightful treat and a way to emphasize the characters. Choosing the right snacks can enhance the overall design:
- For the snowman: Use white candies, such as yogurt-covered raisins or white chocolate pretzels. Here, I’ve used Skinny Pop Kettle Corn popcorn.
- For Rudolph the Reindeer: Find brown treats like milk chocolate-covered almonds or caramel popcorn. I’ve used old fashioned mini sized pretzels.
- For Santa, the Christmas tree, and the Grinch: Red and green candies are ideal, although they aren’t always available. However, seasonal packaging often makes finding these colors easier during the holidays. Hershey’s Kisses in Christmas-themed wrappers are a perfect choice.
To make these snack cups even more personalized, I’ve added a label with Christmas tree and where it’s from. Click below image to download the template for free. The image has black border to show the size and placement of the image, but the actual printable PDF will have the borders removed.