The holidays are a time for great food, family, and festivities! Big meals and cheerful mornings are a special tradition shared by many. Eating the food can be a blast, but serving it... well that's another story. Marching back and forth between the kitchen and dining room to carry countless bowls and plates to people can really make your Christmas tiring!

But wait! You can easily solve this problem with K'nex! In the short span of a half hour, you can build a tray that will make serving food almost as fun as eating it. Not only is it useful, but it is also a great conversation starter! Leave it on the table as a centerpiece for a fun and festive decorative twist!

This tray can be used to serve things such as:

-Big family meals
-TV dinners
-Breakfast-in-bed
-Snacks
-Hors de ouvres
-Carrying dirty dishes

If you're interested in having something creative at your Christmas feast, let's get started building your very own K'nex serving tray!

Step 1: Parts

You will need:

-36 white connectors
-36 blue connectors
-26 yellow connectors
-64 grey connectors
-12 red connectors
-2 purple loop connectors
-2 red rods
-117 white rods
-258 green rods
-4 blue separators
-22 grey separators

Step 2: Base; Part One

Take six blue connectors and six white connectors and connect them using green rods. Make sure the blue connectors are facing the exact same directions as in the pictures! Repeat to make four rows.

Step 3: Base; Part Two

Take six white connectors and six blue connectors and arrange them as shown. Make sure the blue connectors are facing exactly as shown! Connect using green rods. Repeat to make two rows. These rows should mirror the rows you made in the previous step.

Step 4: Base; Part Three

Set up the rows you previously made as shown, and connect them using green rods. Next, fill all spaces using white rods.

Step 5: Sides; Part One

Take two grey connectors and slide them together as shown. Repeat to get 12 pieces, and connect them using green rods.

Step 6: Sides; Part Two

Take ten yellow connectors and connect them using green rods. Next, connect them to the grey connectors from the previous step as shown. Then, add two red connectors to the corners. Finally, fill all spaces with white rods. Repeat to get two pieces.

Step 7: Attaching the Sides to the Base

Attach the sides to the base using green rods as shown. Next, fill in all spaces using white rods. Make sure they are exactly the same as in the picture!

Step 8: Ends; Part One

Take two grey connectors and slide them together as shown. Repeat to get two pieces, and connect them using a green rod. Once again, repeat to get two pairs of grey pieces. Add yellow connector to each piece using a green rod, and connect the two pieces together as shown.

Step 9: Ends; Part Two

Connect a red connector, a yellow connector, and a red rod together as shown. Next, slide ten grey separators onto the red rod. Add a purple loop connector, one more grey separator, two blue separators, and a red connector. Finally, connect the entire piece to the piece you made in the previous step. Fill in all spaces with white rods as shown, and repeat to make another piece. The two pieces should mirror each other.

Step 10: Attaching the Ends

Attach the ends to the rest of the tray using green rods. Then, add four red. connectors to each corner using green rods. Then, fill in all spaces using white rods. Make sure they are exactly the same as in the pictures!