Homemade Pixie Sticks (5 Steps)

Bond with your children while making pixie sticks together. Your kids will probably recognize the candy-filled straws you make as the Nestle brand, Wonka Pixy Stix. Sure, it might be easier to visit a local store to buy the candy, but during the time you take to show your kids how to follow a recipe, you are teaching them a valuable life skill: self-sufficiency. You will also be showing them problem-solving skills as you attempt to make a leak-proof container shaped like a stick to hold the candy.

Things You'll Need

Cutting board
Wax paper
Plastic straws
Lighter
Butter knife
1 cup sugar

1 0.16 oz. packet drink mix, unsweetened
Bowl
Spoon
Funnel
Scissors

Instructions

Cover a cutting board with wax paper.
Melt the end of a straw with a lighter. Flatten the melted plastic by laying the melted part on the cutting board and pressing it closed with a butter knife. You will need to be quick or the plastic will cool before you seal the end closed. Repeat until you have the number of sticks you would like to fill.
Combine 1 cup of sugar with 1 packet (0.16 oz.) of flavored, unsweetened drink mix, which would make 2 quarts of a drink, sold by companies like Kool-Aid, Country Time and Flavor Aid. Stir well. Experiment with several flavors -- grape, orange, cherry, raspberry -- whatever you and your kids like.
Place a funnel into the end of the straw and pour the pixie mix into the funnel. Fill the straw until it is 1 inch from the top.
Melt the open end of the straw with the lighter and immediately press closed with a butter knife. It will prevent spillage until kids are ready to eat them. Snip one of the ends off with scissors when it's time to enjoy the candy.

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