6 Christmas cupcake decorations for a festive tray

A wreath, a poinsettia and a flat tree can all start on the same vanilla cupcake, but they read quite differently on a tray. The marshmallow snowman and tall Santa hat change the height; a sugared ornament takes you to a separate chocolate cupcake recipe.

These six designs come from two complete recipes by John Kanell at Preppy Kitchen: five decoration branches on one page and the ornament on another. Hearth & Petals has not baked or tested them. Choose a look here, then use John’s pages for the ingredients and decorating directions.

John Kanell’s five-design recipe places green buttercream foliage over a white base and finishes the ring with a small red piped ribbon. Gold or silver sugar pearls are optional, rather than part of the wreath’s structure.

Choose the wreath when you want a compact design with an open center. The source page gives the cupcake, buttercream and decorating directions together; use its wreath branch for the actual piping tips and sequence.

John’s poinsettia branch layers green piped leaves under overlapping red ones, then adds tiny yellow buttercream flowers in the center. The flower shape fills the cupcake face instead of leaving a white opening.

This is the bold red option if the wreath feels too restrained. Open the same full Christmas Cupcakes recipe for the exact buttercream and petal-tip instructions rather than treating the picture as a piping tutorial.

John’s tree stays close to the cupcake. Green star-tip dollops make the triangular shape; brown buttercream marks the trunk, while sugar pearls and an optional star sprinkle add the ornaments.

Choose it when you want a tree motif without a tall cone. The white border around the flat tree helps its outline show up on a crowded holiday dessert tray.

The snowman branch uses a cut large marshmallow for the head, a little orange cake-and-buttercream mixture for the nose, and dark edible details for the face and arms. Sugar-pearl buttons are optional.

The low white frosting and small marshmallow face make this the character choice. John’s page shows how to assemble the edible features.

John pipes red buttercream into a narrowing hat, then adds white buttercream dollops around the base and at the tip. Sanding sugar on the white parts is an optional finishing touch.

Choose this when a taller red-and-white outline will make the tray feel more playful. John’s page gives the piping sequence for the frosting peak and white finish.

John’s separate Christmas Ornament Cupcakes recipe starts with chocolate cupcakes and covers colored frosting with matching sanding sugar. Gold-tinted frosting forms the cap at one edge; additional edible details are optional.

Choose this when you want a sparkling round finish and a chocolate cupcake. The separate formula specifies Truvia-branded sweeteners, so check its ingredient list before planning your tray.