Simon the Centipede

Place whipped topping in a medium bowl; gently fold in food coloring.

Place 1 teaspoon whipped topping on the flat side of 1 vanilla wafer; top with a banana slice. Do the same thing all over again with the whipped topping, vanilla wafers, and banana slices. You'll have 36 stacks. Put 6 stacks together in a row to make a log. Curve log slightly, if you'd like. Do the same thing all over again with the remaining stacks.

Spread remaining whipped topping on each log. Cover and chill in the refrigerator at least 8 hours.

3 Attach chocolate pieces to logs to resemble eyes and spots.

Cut fruit roll into small pieces, and attach to logs to resemble mouths. To make the antennae and legs: Snap spaghetti strands in half. Separate candy ropes into strands.

Cut strands into 12 (7-inch) segments. Tie a loose knot into 1 candy strand close to the end. Insert the tip of 1 strand of spaghetti into the knot, and carefully tighten. Starting at the knot, wind the candy strand around the spaghetti pressing gently as you go so the candy will stick to the spaghetti. Break the spaghetti off about an inch below the strand. Do the same thing all over again with the remaining 11 (7-inch) segments of candy and spaghetti. Insert into the logs just above the eyes to resemble antennae. Separate more candy ropes into thin strands.

Cut strands into 6 dozen (1-inch) segments, and stick them into sides of logs to resemble legs.

Serve on a bed of crumbled cream-filled sandwich cookies, if you'd like.

Note: This cute dessert tastes a lot like banana pudding. The crisp vanilla wafers soften as it chills overnight, so it's perfect to eat with a spoon.

*Decorations: miniature candy-coated chocolate pieces (we used M&M's minis), 1 cherry-flavored chewy fruit roll (we used Fruit

Rollups), 6 uncooked spaghetti strands, pull-and-peel red candy ropes (we used Twizzlers), crumbled cream-filled chocolate sandwich cookies (optional)