Your Natural Home

The Very Berry Holiday Tree 
Makes one table centerpiece 

The holidays are the quintessential time for non-essential home decor. Keep your footprint light—and your home less cluttered—this year with one-time-use edible decor. This Very Berry Holiday Tree project from Driscoll's makes a beautiful holiday centerpiece that can be eaten after (or during!) your parties this year.

 
Make this edible centerpiece the star of your holiday table. Photo Courtesy Driscoll's. 

Special equipment:
1 green Styrofoam cone (measuring 4-5 inches in diameter at the base and 12 inches high)*
1 box of toothpicks
 
Supplies:
4 one-pound containers of fresh Driscoll’s organic strawberries
1 bunch fresh mint
1 slice from a carambola fruit (also known as star fruit)**
 
*Reuse styrofoam from around the house, or check out this biodegradable styrofoam alternative.
**Note: If you can’t find a carambola, you can use a 1-inch star-shaped cookie cutter to cut out a star shape from a mango slice instead.
 
1. Wash the strawberries and blot them dry. Pull off the green stem from each strawberry. Reserve a perfect strawberry for the top of the ‘tree’.
 
2. Push a toothpick halfway into the side of the cone, about 1/2 inch from the bottom edge. Secure a strawberry to the toothpick, piercing it through the stem end. Secure another strawberry right next to the first one. Continue securing strawberries to the cone in circular rows up to its top, covering the cone completely. Secure the reserved strawberry to the top of the tree.
 
3. Remove some mint leaves from the bunch of mint and tuck them between the berries, placing them at about 3-inch intervals.
 
4. Secure the star-shaped carambola or mango slice to the top of the cone using a toothpick.