Add cheer to customers' holidays

1. For a Santa and snowman cake, base ice an 8-in. round cake with white icing. Spread additional white icing on top of the cake for snow. Smooth an area of icing toward the front of the cake for a pond. Spread light blue

2. Coat an ice cream cone with green icing. Give the tree some texture by not smoothing the icing. Use a palette knife to add strips of white icing for snow on the tree branches. Add Christmas colored sprinkles on the tree, and place it upside down behind the pond.

3. With tip No. 8, create Santa by piping a large, eggshaped bubble for his body. Add two legs. Then, use a cut paper tube to pipe white bands around his middle, down his front and around the ends of his legs.

4. Add two arms with tip No. 8, and use a cut paper tube to add white cuffs at the end of the arms. Use tip No. 4 to pipe a bubble for his head. Then, with a cut paper tube, add his white beard by piping a triangle and filling it in. Add hair at the back of his head and eyebrows.

5. With a cut paper tube, pipe green mittens, black boots, a red nose and mouth and blue eyes. With tip No. 6, pipe a red hat. Use a cut paper tube to add a white band around the base of the hat and a ball at the tip.

6. Place sugar cubes at the base of the tree and around Santa. Use a cut paper tube to pipe red and green ribbons on the sugar cubes to create gifts.

7. For the fallen snowman, use tip No. 8 to pipe three white bubbles for the snowman's body. The top bubble, the head, should be in an "up" position. Then, add sprawled legs and outstretched arms to indicate the snowman's fall.

8. Use a cut paper tube to pipe green earmuffs on the snowman and a black hat on the ice in front of him, as though it has fallen off. Add black accents, such as eyes and a mouth, and a red nose using a cut paper tube. Use tip No. 8 to outline the "snow" on the top of the cake.

9. Pipe 'Happy Holidays' in red with a cut paper tube on top of the cake. Use tip No. 8 to pipe a bubble top border. Dip your finger in water or cornstarch and flatten the tops of the bubbles. Then, use the same tip to add a scallop bottom border. For the side decorations, divide the cake into eighths, and use star tip No. 14 to pipe green swags using a rolling motion.

10. Pipe red figure 8 bows at the top of each swag with a cut paper tube, and add holly berries along the swags. To pipe the holly leaves, coat the inside of the decorating bag with dark green piping gel, and fill with green icing. With star tip No. 14, pipe the holly leaves using a double stroke motion. Use a toothpick to pull out the points of the leaves. At the top of each leaf, pipe three red berries with a cut paper tube.

1. To create a candy cane cake, base ice a quarter sheet cake with white icing. Fit a decorating bag with star tip No. 18. Add a stripe of red icing up the side of the bag, widening the stripe as you near the top. Fill it with white icing. Use a rolling 'e' motion to pipe the top border.

2. For the bottom border, use tip No. 8 to pipe white candy canes. Pipe one with the curve of the cane up and the next one with the curve of the cane down. Use a cut paper tube to pipe the red stripes on the candy canes.

3. Cross two candy canes on the top of the cake. Place one cane at an angle. For the second candy cane, cut it in half and cut out a portion that is the width of the cane. This makes both candy canes the same length. Place one half of the second cane on either side of the first one.

4. Add a bow of either ribbon or fondant on top of the crossed candy canes. With a cut paper tube, pipe a green line around the edge of the cake for a strand of lights. Periodically around the line of icing, pipe bubbles of green icing to serve as the light bulb bases. Then, use tip No. 6 or 8 to pipe light bulbs of varying colors.

5. Pipe ‘Season’s Greetings’ on top of the cake with a cut paper tube and red icing. Add a bit of glitter to the top of the cake.

Base ice a quarter sheet cake with white icing to create this Hanukkah design. Place a stencil for an outline of the candles' flames, and airbrush the top of the cake and the sides blue. Remove the stencil, and airbrush the lower portion of the cake yellow. Pipe white candles using a rose tip with the smooth side up and the narrow end inward. Use two strokes to create the candle, one up and one down. Smooth with a spatula. Add flames by striping a decorating bag with red, and fill it with yellow. Pipe teardrops at the top of the candle with tip No. 8. Add a yellow rippling border at the base of the candles with tip No. 103. Pipe white top and bottom borders with star tip No. 18. Use a cut paper tube to add the criss-cross side decorations.

To create a snowman cake, base ice a quarter sheet cake with white icing. Spread additional icing on the top of the cake in the shape of a snowman. Add even more white icing at the base for a snow drift. Airbrush the top of the cake blue, allowing some of the airbrush color to overlap onto the snowman. Pipe a white scarf around the snowman's neck with rose tip No. 104. Add the red accents with a cut paper tube. Use a cut paper tube to add the black stick arms, buttons, eyes and nose; red earmuffs; orange carrot nose and the multi-colored hat. For the holly leaves, use a cut paper tube coated with green piping gel and filled with green icing. Add red holly berries. Pipe the top and bottom borders with star tip No. 18.

For a menorah shaped cake, cut a 10-in. cake in half. Place the rounded sides of the cake together, slicing a small portion of the edges so the two halves fit together. Use tip No. 8 to pipe the yellow menorah and white candles. Add the candle flames using tip No. 8 and a decorating bag striped with red, then filled with yellow icing. Cut a gold cake board, and place it at the top of the cake to accent the flames. Use tip No. 14 to add the white shell top border and tip No. 8 for the blue scalloped bottom border. Add decorations on the side of the cake with tip No. 8.

To create the perfect snowball cupcake, use angel food cake topped with whipped cream. Coat the whipped cream with coconut flakes. Pipe holly leaves using a cut paper tube coated with green piping gel and filled with green icing. Use a toothpick to pull out the points on the leaves. Add red holly berries with a cut paper tube. Then, place candles in the center of the holly leaves.