Decorating Christmas cakes and cookies sounds wonderful and it is very interesting and challenging as well. Most people are sometimes never giving up to try but when the cakes are half done, they often fall short of what they had in mind. Actually, there are simple shapes which can be done easily by beginners. Try Open Star which is popular, especially with bakers who like to decorate cupcakes. The large star-shaped opening is effective when creating large puffy swirls.
The next method is round tips whic are important for those wishing to decorate cakes and cookies. The round opening makes them perfect to outline and script. The tips seems to be perfect for outlining shapes on cookies, and just the right size for writing letters on cakes. Or you may want to give a shot to Multi-Opening which are used to create rows and clusters of beads, stars. The triple star tip is good for filling in large areas with colored frosting.
A good way to perfect and practice your cake and cookie decorating skills, is to make a batch of practice icing to get the feel for cake decorating techniques. Pipe designs directly onto a cookie pan and just scrape off to reuse. Practice icing can be kept for months in an airtight container. Just prepare 1 cup shortening, 1 lb confectioner’s sugar, 2-3 Tablespoons of water. Then place the shortening in a mixing bowl. Beat until softened. Add confectioner’s sugar, and then water. Beat on medium speed until creamy, scraping the bowl sides as necessary.