12 Christmas Rice Krispie Treats Shaped Like Trees, Wreaths and Snowmen

A tray of plain squares gets eaten, but it never gets photographed. Shape the same marshmallow mixture into a tree, a wreath or a snowman on a stick and the school party table suddenly has something worth a second look, without turning on the oven or buying a single named-brand box. Any crisped rice cereal works here, so grab whatever is cheapest that week.

Each recipe below makes its own small batch, which keeps the mess contained if little hands are helping shape. Butter and marshmallow mean dairy throughout, and a few recipes lean on packaged candy melts or pretzels, so check labels if the class has a known allergy. None of these need alcohol, they are built for a kids’ table from the first step to the last.

Keep the palette to red, green and cream and the whole tray reads as one collection even when the shapes do not match. For a serving setup that carries the rest of the colour through, the Christmas table decorations round-up pairs well, and the no-bake Christmas treats list is the place to go next if the oven stays off all afternoon.

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Christmas Tree Treats on Sticks

A flat square says nothing next to a plate of cutout cookies. Mould the same warm mixture around a stick instead and it stands up as a little pine tree before anyone takes a bite. Kids can shape the cones themselves while the mixture is still warm, which buys ten quiet minutes during the busiest part of party prep.

If sticks are not allowed in the classroom, skip them and stand the cones straight on a tray: the shape still reads as a tree without anything to chew around.

Prep: 20 minutes. Total: 40 minutes. Yield: 12 trees on sticks.

Ingredients

• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 10 oz mini marshmallows
• 6 cups crisped rice cereal
• 6 drops green food coloring
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• pinch of salt
• 12 wooden lollipop sticks
• 1/4 cup small red and white candies, for ornaments
• 2 tablespoons white icing, for garland

Instructions

1. Line a baking sheet with parchment and lay out 12 lollipop sticks.
2. Melt the butter in a large pot over low heat.
3. Add the marshmallows, vanilla and salt, stirring until fully melted and smooth.
4. Stir in green food coloring a drop at a time until the mixture is pine green.
5. Remove from heat and fold in the cereal until every piece is coated.
6. Let the mixture cool for 3 to 4 minutes, then butter your hands.
7. Pinch off portions and mould each into a cone shape around a stick.
8. Stand the trees upright to set for 15 minutes, then decorate with candies and icing garland.

Wreath Treats with Red Candies

A full pan of squares vanishes into a crowded dessert table. Cut a ring instead and dot it with red candies for berries, and it reads as a wreath from across the room without any extra ingredients. Green food coloring does the heavy lifting here, so the colour comes from the treat itself rather than from icing.

No doughnut cutter at home? Two round cutters, one nested inside the other, do exactly the same job.

Prep: 15 minutes. Total: 35 minutes. Yield: 9 wreaths.

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 10 oz mini marshmallows
• 6 cups crisped rice cereal
• 6 drops green food coloring
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup red cinnamon candies

Instructions

1. Grease a 9×9 inch pan and set aside.
2. Melt the butter over low heat in a large pot.
3. Add the marshmallows and vanilla, stirring until smooth and fully melted.
4. Mix in green food coloring until the colour looks like fresh pine.
5. Remove from heat and fold in the cereal until coated.
6. Press the mixture into the pan in an even layer and cool for 10 minutes.
7. Cut rings using a doughnut cutter or two nested round cutters.
8. Press red cinnamon candies around each ring to look like holly berries.

Snowman Treat Pops

Leave the marshmallow mixture its natural cream colour and it already looks like snow, no food coloring needed. Stack three sizes of ball on a stick and press on candy features while everything is still soft, and the whole thing holds without any glue or icing.

This is the one to hand to the youngest kid at the table: no cutting, no piping, just rolling and pressing.

Prep: 20 minutes. Total: 40 minutes. Yield: 10 pops.

Ingredients

• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 10 oz mini marshmallows
• 6 cups crisped rice cereal
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 10 wooden lollipop sticks
• mini candy eyes, candy corn noses and small black candy buttons

Instructions

1. Melt the butter over low heat in a large pot.
2. Add the marshmallows and vanilla, stirring until melted and smooth.
3. Remove from heat and fold in the cereal until fully coated.
4. Let the mixture cool just enough to handle, then butter your hands.
5. Roll three different sized balls per pop: one large, one medium, one small.
6. Stack the balls on a stick from largest to smallest, pressing gently to bond them.
7. Press on candy eyes, a candy corn nose and candy buttons while still soft.
8. Stand the pops upright in a glass until fully set, about 15 minutes.

Santa Hat Treats

A small cone dipped red with a white brim needs no explanation at a party table, every kid knows exactly what it is. The trick is chilling the shaped cones before dipping, so the candy coating sets clean instead of sliding off.

If dipping feels fussy with a group of kids, let the grown-up do the melting and dipping while the children handle the pom-pom on top.

Prep: 20 minutes. Total: 40 minutes. Yield: 12 hats.

Ingredients

• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 10 oz mini marshmallows
• 6 cups crisped rice cereal
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup red candy melts
• 1/2 cup white candy melts
• 12 mini marshmallows, for the pom-poms

Instructions

1. Melt the butter over low heat, then stir in the marshmallows and vanilla until smooth.
2. Remove from heat and fold in the cereal until coated.
3. Cool slightly, then shape handfuls into 12 small cones.
4. Chill the cones in the fridge for 10 minutes to firm up.
5. Melt the red candy melts and dip the top two thirds of each cone.
6. Melt the white candy melts and dip the bottom edge of each cone for the brim.
7. Press a mini marshmallow on the tip of each cone for the pom-pom.
8. Let the hats set on parchment until the coating hardens, about 15 minutes.

Gingerbread House Treats

A gingerbread house usually means royal icing and a very patient afternoon. Build the walls from pressed cereal mixture instead and the whole thing comes together in under an hour, no baking and no dried-out icing cement that cracks overnight.

This is the one recipe here worth doing a day ahead: the pieces hold their shape better once they have had a night to firm up before you glue them together.

Prep: 25 minutes. Total: 45 minutes. Yield: 8 houses.

Ingredients

• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 10 oz mini marshmallows
• 6 cups crisped rice cereal
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup white icing
• assorted small candies, for windows and doors

Instructions

1. Grease an 8×8 inch pan and set aside.
2. Melt the butter over low heat, add the marshmallows and vanilla, and stir until smooth.
3. Remove from heat and fold in the cereal until coated.
4. Press half the mixture into the pan for the house walls, and shape the rest into small triangle roofs on parchment.
5. Let both pieces cool and firm up for 10 minutes.
6. Cut the pan portion into rectangles sized for house walls.
7. Pipe icing along the top edge of each rectangle and set a roof triangle on top.
8. Pipe icing details and press on candies for windows and a door.

Candy Cane Striped Treats

Two batches, one colored, one left plain, twisted together while still warm: that is the whole trick behind a striped cane shape. It looks like far more effort went in than actually did, which is exactly the kind of win worth having before a school party.

Work quickly once both batches are mixed. The ropes twist cleanly while warm and crack if you wait too long.

Prep: 20 minutes. Total: 35 minutes. Yield: 10 canes.

Ingredients

• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
• 10 oz mini marshmallows, divided
• 6 cups crisped rice cereal, divided
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 6 drops red food coloring

Instructions

1. Melt half the butter over low heat, then stir in half the marshmallows until smooth.
2. Mix in red food coloring until the mixture turns a bright candy cane red.
3. Fold in half the cereal until coated, then set this red batch aside on parchment.
4. Repeat with the remaining butter and marshmallows, leaving this batch plain white.
5. Fold in the rest of the cereal to finish the white batch.
6. While both batches are still warm, roll a rope from each color.
7. Twist the red and white ropes together gently to form the candy cane stripe.
8. Curve the top of each rope into a hook and let cool until firm.

Ornament Ball Treats

Round, glossy and hung from a loop, these read as actual ornaments from across the dessert table, not treats at all. A silicone sphere mold makes the shaping part foolproof, though rolling by hand works nearly as well if nobody wants another gadget in the cupboard.

Chill the balls before dipping. Cold mixture holds its shape in warm candy coating far better than a ball straight off the counter.

Prep: 20 minutes. Total: 40 minutes. Yield: 15 balls.

Ingredients

• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 10 oz mini marshmallows
• 6 cups crisped rice cereal
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup red candy melts
• 1 cup green candy melts
• silver dragees, for the caps
• thin red licorice lace, for the hanging loops

Instructions

1. Melt the butter over low heat, add the marshmallows and vanilla, and stir until smooth.
2. Remove from heat and fold in the cereal until fully coated.
3. Let cool a few minutes, then butter your hands and roll into 15 even balls.
4. Chill the balls on a tray for 10 minutes to firm up.
5. Melt the red and green candy melts in two separate bowls.
6. Dip half the balls in red and half in green, letting the excess drip off.
7. While the coating is wet, press a silver dragee on top for the cap.
8. Once set, poke a small hole with a skewer and thread a licorice loop through for hanging.

Reindeer Treats

Two pretzel twists and a red candy turn an oval mound into a face a six year old can identify instantly. No food coloring, no dipping, just pressing features in while the mixture is still warm enough to hold them.

If pretzels are off the table for an allergy reason, thin strips of leftover cereal mixture, baked briefly crisp, make a decent antler swap.

Prep: 20 minutes. Total: 35 minutes. Yield: 10 faces.

Ingredients

• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 10 oz mini marshmallows
• 6 cups crisped rice cereal
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 20 small pretzel twists, for antlers
• candy eyes and red candy-coated chocolates, for noses

Instructions

1. Melt the butter over low heat, add the marshmallows and vanilla, and stir until smooth.
2. Remove from heat and fold in the cereal until coated.
3. Let cool slightly, then shape into 10 oval mounds for faces.
4. While still soft, press two pretzel twists into the top of each for antlers.
5. Press on candy eyes just below the antlers.
6. Finish each face with one red candy pressed on for the nose.
7. Let the reindeer firm up on a tray for about 15 minutes before serving.

Present Box Treats

A square already looks like a box, it just needs a ribbon. Piped icing crossed over the top does the job in under a minute per square, and the crossing lines hide any slightly uneven edges from the cutting.

Let the icing firm up for a minute before adding a candy bow, or it slides straight off the wet line.

Prep: 15 minutes. Total: 35 minutes. Yield: 9 boxes.

Ingredients

• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 10 oz mini marshmallows
• 6 cups crisped rice cereal
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup red icing
• 1/2 cup green icing
• small candy bows or ribbon candy

Instructions

1. Grease a 9×9 inch pan and set aside.
2. Melt the butter over low heat, add the marshmallows and vanilla, and stir until smooth.
3. Remove from heat and fold in the cereal until fully coated.
4. Press the mixture evenly into the pan and let cool for 15 minutes.
5. Cut into 9 even squares to look like little gift boxes.
6. Pipe a ribbon of red or green icing across the top and down the sides of each square.
7. Add a second icing line the other direction so the ribbons cross.
8. Top each box with a small candy bow once the icing has set slightly.

Peppermint Crispy Bars

Swap vanilla for peppermint extract and stir crushed candy canes straight into the mixture, and a plain bar turns into something that actually tastes like the season, not just looks like it. A few drops of pink food coloring give a soft marbled swirl, though it is purely optional.

Crush the candy canes while they are still in a sealed bag. Fewer shards on the counter, less sweeping before the kids come back for seconds.

Prep: 15 minutes. Total: 35 minutes. Yield: 16 bars.

Ingredients

• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 10 oz mini marshmallows
• 6 cups crisped rice cereal
• 1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract
• 1/2 cup crushed candy canes, divided
• pink food coloring, optional

Instructions

1. Grease a 9×13 inch pan and set aside.
2. Melt the butter over low heat, add the marshmallows and peppermint extract, and stir until smooth.
3. Stir in a few drops of pink food coloring if using, for a soft swirl.
4. Remove from heat and fold in the cereal along with half the crushed candy canes.
5. Press the mixture evenly into the pan.
6. Sprinkle the remaining crushed candy canes over the top, pressing gently so they stick.
7. Let cool for 15 minutes before cutting into 16 bars.

Chocolate Dipped Treats

Plain squares look unfinished next to anything shaped. A half-dip in melted chocolate fixes that in under a minute per piece, and it is the one recipe here that genuinely passes for a bakery treat with almost no extra skill.

Short on time? Skip the shapes, cut straight squares and dip, the chocolate does all the dressing up.

Prep: 15 minutes. Total: 40 minutes. Yield: 12 treats.

Ingredients

• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 10 oz mini marshmallows
• 6 cups crisped rice cereal
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup dark or milk chocolate melting wafers
• 1/2 cup white candy melts, for drizzle
• holiday sprinkles

Instructions

1. Grease a 9×9 inch pan and set aside.
2. Melt the butter over low heat, add the marshmallows and vanilla, and stir until smooth.
3. Remove from heat and fold in the cereal until fully coated.
4. Press the mixture evenly into the pan and let cool for 15 minutes.
5. Cut into 12 squares, or use a cutter for simple tree or star shapes.
6. Melt the chocolate and dip each treat halfway, letting the excess drip back into the bowl.
7. Set the dipped treats on parchment and drizzle with melted white candy.
8. Scatter sprinkles over the wet drizzle before it sets.

Grinch Green Treats

One bright, almost unreasonable shade of green and a single red candy heart pressed on top: that is the whole joke, and kids get it instantly. Go bolder with the food coloring than feels right, the color settles down slightly as the treats cool.

A heart-shaped cutter sells the reference even harder, though a plain square with the candy heart on top works just as well.

Prep: 15 minutes. Total: 35 minutes. Yield: 12 treats.

Ingredients

• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 10 oz mini marshmallows
• 6 cups crisped rice cereal
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 8 drops green food coloring
• 12 small red candy hearts

Instructions

1. Grease a 9×9 inch pan and set aside.
2. Melt the butter over low heat, add the marshmallows and vanilla, and stir until smooth.
3. Stir in green food coloring, adding more than feels necessary for a true bright shade.
4. Remove from heat and fold in the cereal until fully coated.
5. Press the mixture evenly into the pan and let cool for 15 minutes.
6. Cut into 12 squares, or use a heart-shaped cutter for a playful twist.
7. Press a small red candy heart onto the center of each treat before serving.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why are my rice krispie treats hard instead of soft?

Heat is almost always the culprit. If you melt the marshmallow and butter mixture on high heat it could possibly make the treats hard. Keep the burner low and stop pressing the mixture into the pan the moment it is level, since overpacking the mixture into the pan can cause the cut treats to become hard and brittle rather than soft.

How do I keep shaped Christmas rice krispie treats soft overnight for a party?

Seal them up as soon as they are fully cool. The enemy of a soft treat is exposure to air, which pulls the moisture out of the marshmallow sugar matrix, so storing your treats in an airtight container at room temperature is the only way to keep them soft for more than a few hours. If a batch has already gone a bit firm, a slice of bread works great to make Rice Krispie Treats soft again, sealed into a bag with them overnight.

Can I use marshmallows that have been sitting in the pantry for a while?

It is worth buying a fresh bag for this one. As marshmallows sit, they lose moisture and their texture changes, they will have a harder time melting, and when they do, they will become a gelatinous blob, running the risk of overcooking and making tougher treats because they need to cook for longer.

Why does the mixture keep sticking to my hands while I shape it?

A little fat on your hands solves this instantly. Lots and lots of butter, plus a bit of non-stick spray, helps a lot, and coating everything, even your hands, in butter or spray goes a long way toward making it less sticky. Working while the mixture is still warm also helps, since it stiffens and grips less once it cools.

How far ahead can I make shaped Christmas rice krispie treats for a school party?

Plain shaped treats hold up well for a couple of days at room temperature in a sealed container, and freezing is an excellent way to preserve them for up to 2 months, wrapped individually in plastic wrap or foil to prevent freezer burn. Save any chocolate dipping or icing piping for the morning of the party so the decoration stays crisp.

Do I need a specific brand of cereal to make these?

No. Any crisped cereal will work in this recipe, which is exactly why every shape in this list calls simply for crisped rice cereal rather than a named box.