Step One - Untwist paper twist. Cut strips approximately 3 inches long and 1 and 1/2 inches wide. Note these sizes are based on a 14-16 inch cone. If you want make smaller trees you may want to scale the strips of paper twist smaller.

Step Two - Fold the strips of paper twist in half and pin in rows around the cone starting at the bottom of the cone. You may want to reinforce the pins with a dot of glue. The bottoms of the strips should be rounded out.

Step Three - Alternate rows of green and natural colored strips. (See illustration, though your tree will look much more elegant.) Be sure to overlap the rows a little to cover the pins.

Step Four - Cut a circle out of the final color of paper twist and glue it to the top of the tree. Voila! Enjoy your tree!

Some Variations - Even though this is a tree, I think it makes an elegant Thanksgiving decoration. As an alternative to natural paper twist I used dried corn husks from the garden. These must be soaked in water to become pliable and you will need to let the rows dry a bit. Also, corn husks can be cut a little larger and overlap a bit on each side as they have a tendency to shrink as they dry.

To make the tree more Christmasy, use red and green paper twist (or red and silver or green and gold). Or use all green twist and decorate with small Christmas balls stuck into the tree with pieces of wire or glued on beads.

Another fun and easy Christmas tree can also be made from a styrofoam cone. With tacky glue, glue on various shapes of macaroni. Let dry and then spray paint with gold or silver acrylic paint. This was an extremely popular craft idea when I was growing up!