In Germany, a child beginning first grade traditionally receives a Zückertüte, which can be roughly translated as “sugar cone” (also called Schultüte “school cone” in some regions). It’s a large, beautifully decorated cone-shaped container generally made of cardboard and paper. In this picture, a girl is holding her Zückertüte in her hands:
Photo by Andreas Bohnenstengel, CC BY-SA 3.0 de, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=57354953
Parents fill children’s Zuckertüten with small useful school supplies, like colored pencils, glue, and their first fountain pen. To sweeten the deal of starting school, parents often add goodies like gummi bears or other small presents to their children’s Zuckertüten. Some parents buy their children commercially made Zuckertüten while others design and craft their children’s Zuckertüten themselves. Zuckertüten can be big or small, and sometimes they’re nearly as big as the children themselves:
Photo by Deutsche Fotothek, CC BY-SA 3.0 de, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=7950418
Imagine someone you know is facing a new beginning – the start of a new school year or semester, a new job, the beginning of retirement, a move to a new apartment or house, a new pet, etc. Imagine you wanted to give that person a Zuckertüte.
What would you fill the Zückertute with? Bonus points for designing a Zuckertüte yourself.
Tweet your response to @ds106dc and be sure to include the hashtag #tdc3864