Creating Schultüten (School Cones)

A few years ago a friend introduced me to this delightful German tradition when she purchased some toys from me for the cone she was making for her niece.  I next came across the tradition when my son started his first day at school and some of the German children in his class had them.  It is such a lovely idea that I thought I would like to share it here with you.

History

Googling the words “School Cone” immediately brought up several sources of information.  I discovered that the German word is Schultüte  which directly translates as  School Bag, but it is clearly always a cone that is used.  The first records we have of the tradition go back to the early 1800′s where they were seen in some of the larger German cities.  It took a little while for the tradition to spread through to the smaller towns, but it did and I can now see that other countries are beginning to take it up, and not just for children starting school for the first time – in some places it is becoming a tradition that happens on the first day of school each year.  Well, with something as lovely as this it is hardly surprising that everyone wants a bit of it.

The saying goes that initially the cones were made by parents or close family members, labelled with the child’s name and given to the school teacher who then hung them on a tree or metal frame known as the “Schultüten-Baum”.  The children were given the story that the tree held the ripened fruits for the children who were ready to start school.  They were then led to the tree where they had to find and “pick” their “fruit” (school cone).  I am not sure if the tradition of the tree widely remains, it seems that nowadays the children are given the cone by their parents before they go to school and in some cases they help to make them, but it still remains a special rite of passage to mark the first day of school.

It seems that traditionally the cones were filled with sweets and small treats.  More recently the sweets have become less (which in my opinion is good news) and the treats include practical things for school as well as more modern gifts that the children will enjoy.  Sadly the cones are changing in appearance becoming more gaudy and less creative.  Looking online I discovered that there is a commercial enterprise starting to grow out of making them, which to me really takes away the personal creative input of the family members that makes the tradition so special.

How to Make a Schultüte

There are different methods of making the cone, and the key is to use your own creativity to make it personal.  Simply though, the main body of the cone is made from a large sheet of flexible card, rolled around into a cone shape with the points trimmed off the top.  The cone is then beautifully decorated and the child’s name added to it.  Next the top is created so that it can be closed off.  For example a strip of crepe or tissue paper can be stapled around the top edge of the cone and then drawn upwards (so that the staples are hidden).  Once the cone has been filled the top is tied with a ribbon to seal it.  An online search will give you lots of creative ideas and I have added a link below to a site I found useful.

Filling the Cone

The cone can be filled with gifts such as stationery items that can be used in school or at home, fruit or snacks for break time or small items such as gloves, a hat, torch or reflective strips that will be useful as the darker nights draw in.  Games and toys for the playground are also a popular options for example, skipping ropes; a yo-yo; Chinese jump ropes; etc.  We have a large selection of small items on our website, particularly in our Party Treats category and a few more in Kids (6+ age range).

Here is an image of one of the websites I found that show you how to make a Schultüte.  I recommend visiting this site as it includes many other bits of information and activities that you might enjoy (click on the image to go there or copy and paste the url into your browser.

http://www.ukgermanconnection.org/make_schultuete