Candy Cane-O-Grams

Special thanks to Erica for being my "hand model" on this project!

This "Candy Cane-O-Gram" is a favorite holiday project year after year. It may look like an ordinary paper candy cane, but it contains a special hidden message for it's recipient! Once kids make their first one, they'll be "hooked"!

1. Use a ruler to draw parallel lines in holiday colors along the edges of your paper. Make some lines thick and others thin. Leave some white paper showing between your lines. (We used 9x12 construction paper here, but you can use any size paper you want, to make a smaller or larger candy cane. Regular copy paper works well, too!)



2. Next, think about who you would like to give this candy cane to (your mom, dad, sibling, aunt, uncle, grandparent, friend, teacher, etc.), and write a note to them in the middle of your paper. Offer to do something special for them, help them with something, or just tell them how special they are! (If you offer to do something, make sure you are willing to follow through!!)



3. Now, turn your paper over (so that the lines you drew and your message are on the back) and roll it up around your pencil, diagonally from corner to corner. (Using a square piece of paper can be helpful if students have trouble rolling from corner to corner on a rectangle.) Keep the paper snug as you roll it. Then, when you can no longer see your pencil, loosen your grip a tiny bit and let your pencil slide out through one of the ends.





4. Keep rolling.....








5. Keep rolling.....








6. When you get to the end, have a small piece of clear tape ready to secure the corner.







7. Finally, bend one of the ends to make a hook shape. Add a gift tag so you will remember who to give it to and they will know who it's from.... This is especially important if you make more than one! Try making a variety of sizes and hang them on your tree!

Time Saving Tip: If you're "pinched for time", you can color just 2 adjacent sides of your paper, and then start rolling from the uncolored corner, leaving just the colored edges showing on the finished candy cane. I prefer to color all four edges so that the message inside is framed with a colorful border, but if you want to make lots of candy canes, this can be a good option!