Name: Shrimp Christmas Tree
Prep time: 30 min
Total time: 30 min
Ingredients: Cooked Shrimp; Lettuce or Curly Kale; Colorful tomatoes; Cheese cubes; Colorful salad peppers; Parsley; toothpicks; cabbage; cucumber

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This Shrimp Christmas Tree will be the star of the show on your Holiday table! Impress your friends and relatives with your cool creation! Or you can make a Delicatessen Christmas Tree (see below).

I had no idea that my Shrimp Christmas Tree would be such a success after I posted our Christmas Dinner pictures in many groups.

It is a stunner in real life, I must admit it and you would want to make this tree after I share these detailed instructions and what I have learned from making a few of these.

The idea came to me after I was thinking about what to make this year and remembered my Chicken Salad Christmas tree and how successful that recipe has been and how many variations you can make.

Imagination has no limit!

I’m sure you can find many Shrimp Trees when you try Googling, BUT most of them use STYROFOAM from the Craft store as a base. I didn’t want to do this. It’s not best for food since you can pull out a bit of styrofoam when you pull out the toothpick.

I wanted an ALL-EDIBLE tree!

I needed a solid base for it. We went shopping at a grocery store, and we thought that cabbage and a long cucumber would do the trick, lol

IT WORKED! It looks a bit “sexual” naked, but it gets the job done, lol

So here it is underneath!

How to make a Shrimp Christmas Tree:

These are the ingredients you will need to construct the Shrimp Christmas Tree. I took these pictures from my first tree experiment.

You will need a Long Cucumber for the project. Size does matter here, LOL, and cabbage for the base.

Slice cabbage in half, and with a carving knife, carve a hole, so the cucumber fits securely. You may need a few adjustments.

TIP: if you mess up and make a larger hole, just insert a few small carrot sticks. Still all Edible!

With my first Shrimp tree, I’ve used a Cooked Shrimp ring from Publix and the small Scallops I had on hand.

I think Larger Shrimp and especially the Breaded Shrimp from Costco stand out more. But, it’s a matter of preference here. You decide!

Now that the ingredients are ready let’s start assembling.

You will need toothpicks or party sticks for this project.

Tip: You will need short toothpicks for the cabbage part and longer ones to reach the cucumber part.

You can use Artisan colorful lettuce or Curly Kale, as the one I’ve done on Christmas.

Start attaching the leaves.

Or Curly Kale.

Your preference here.

I think both look beautiful, agree?

Now attach Shrimp, Scallops, Tomatoes, Salad Peppers...

It’s beginning to take shape!

It looks Pretty Spectacular, don’t you think?

Developing a recipe is not easy; it takes time to experiment and see what works. I might have an idea in my head but in reality, it doesn’t always work. This one did so well, as you can see!

Delicatessen Tree

Use the same idea and make Deli Meats and Cheeses tree, Fruit Tree, Olives Tree… you get the idea.

Black Forest Ham and Cheddar Cheese Tree from our New Year’s Table!

HOW TO MAKE Delicatessen Tree

Start again with your base. I went a bit much this time, so choose your cucumbers wisely (not too big, lol).

Attach Curly Kale.

I find that circular-shaped deli cuts are easier to fold into flowers and make for a prettier – “ornaments”!

Fold the deli cuts in half and then roll into a flower. Secure with a toothpick.

You can cut a stick of cheese into cubes or you can buy a precut one that makes your job much easier and quicker.

You can make it a day before and store it in the refrigerator, lightly wrapped in plastic wrap.

So have fun creating and decorating your own Shrimp Christmas Tree!

Happy Holidays!