What you need:

Parchment paper
Fondant rolling pin
Red fondant
Light bulb cookie cutter (for the legs)
Offset spatula
1 Paintbrush
Corn syrup
2 Light bulb cookies
Green fondant
Green royal icing
Red royal icing
Pastry bag with # 2 tip
White royal icing
Pastry bag with # 18 star tip
White sanding sugar
Pennant cookie cutter (for Santa cookie)
Santa cookie (for a fatter Santa cut a pie wedge out of a circle like we did)
Black fondant
Textured rolling pin
Knife
Pastry bag with # 1 tip
Red hot candies (for nose)
Black royal icing
Arm template (page 00)
2 Arm cookies
Green M&M’s

Directions:

Roll red fondant to 1/8-inch thickness. Cut with the pennant cookie cutter. (For a rounded waist, use your knife to shape the body.)

With a paintbrush, dab corn syrup on top of each light bulb cookie. Carefully place the red fondant on the syrup layer, smoothing the edges with a dry finger. Set the cookies aside.
Roll black fondant on parchment paper to 1/8-inch thickness. Cut the fondant with the light bulb cookie cutter. Again, use the offset spatula to cut the bases from each bulb. This time, discard the bulbs. Set the bases aside.

Use a paintbrush and dab corn syrup on the partially finished cookies. Carefully place a fondant light bulb base on the syrup layer of each cookie, smoothing the edges with a dry finger. Repeat for the second leg.

Repeat the above process for the arms, but instead of black fondant at the base, use green fondant. Use coordinating colors of royal icing (for example, red royal icing on red fondant) and a #2 tip to pipe outlines of the legs and arms.

Use white royal icing in a pastry bag with a star tip to pipe the seam where the black meets the red on the legs, and the green meets the red on the arms. Sprinkle white sanding sugar over the icing. Let dry one hour or until the icing is hardened.

Roll more red fondant on parchment paper to 1/8-inch thickness. Cut the fondant with your body template. Use the offset spatula to cut out about 1 inch of fondant from each Santa, between the cap and the suit. Discard the cutouts. Set the cut fondant aside.

With a paintbrush, dab corn syrup on top of each Santa cookie, where Santa’s cap will go. Carefully place the fondant cap on the syrup layer, smoothing the edges with a dry finger. Repeat with Santa’s suit. Set the cookies aside.

Roll black fondant on parchment paper to 1/8-inch thickness. Go over once with a textured rolling pin. Cut the fondant with the Santa body template. Use a knife to cut a thin belt from each Santa. Set the belts aside.

With a paintbrush, dab a little corn syrup on each Santa cookie, where the belt will go. Place the fondant belts over the syrup, smoothing the edges with a dry finger.
Using red royal icing in a pastry bag with a #1 tip, outline the suit and the cap.

Using white royal icing in a pastry bag with a star tip, create the pom-pom, cap detail, Santa’s beard and face detail, and the bottom ruffle of each suit. Sprinkle white sanding sugar over the white royal icing.

Adhere a red hot to the white royal icing as Santa’s nose.

Use black royal icing to pipe two dots on each cookie, for eyes, and to adhere a green M&M on Santa’s belt.

Let dry for at least one hour or until the icing has hardened.

Play with the placement of the legs and arms until you find the desired position. Use royal icing on the legs and arms to adhere them to the body of each Santa.

Additional ideas: These are fun as place settings on a set table. To make them fun conversation pieces, arrange the legs and arms of each Santa in a different way.