If you’re putting up a Christmas tree this year, put the kids in charge of decorating by crafting handmade ornaments and hanging them on the tree. Handmade ornaments also make great gifts for Grandparents and other family, especially if they involve a picture of your kids in the centre! Here are a few handmade ornament ideas:
1. Salt dough ornaments – we looked forward to making ornaments every year when I was a kid. If you’re not quite ready to put the tree up yet, this is a great way to channel the kids’ excitement into a Christmas project! Roll out the dough and cut shapes with cookie cutters. Place shapes on baking sheet and make a hanging hole in each, using toothpick. Bake and cool. Decorate ornaments with paints, decorating supplies, clippings of old Christmas cards, family photos. Let dry. Hang with wire or ribbon. Here’s the recipe:
- 1 cup salt, 4 cups flour, 1 ½ c warm water, 4 tbsp salad oil
- Mix dry ingredients and then wet ingredients; combine all and knead for 10 minutes
- Roll to ¼” thick and cut shapes. Prick bottoms, bake on greased pan at 350 for ½ hour to 3 hours, depending on thickness
2. Edible ornaments – no one likes ‘undecorating’ the tree at the end of the season, so make yours a tree that naturally becomes more sparse as the days of Christmas-ing go on! Before baking your gingerbread men and sugar cookies, use a toothpick to make a hole at the top for hanging. Popcorn garlands can be strung, and of course candy canes can be added to your tree as well.
3. Pinecones! A great natural addition to your Christmas tree. Go outside to collect pinecones, remove any dirt, debris, or snow, and let them dry if necessary (you can dry them in the oven at low temp ~200 degrees). Add small dots of glue and sprinkle with icing sugar, sugar, or sparkles if you have them. You can also roll them in glue and then put them in a brown bag or resealable bag full of sugar/sparkles and shake shake shake to decorate. Glue or tie a ribbon to the top for hanging.
4. Ribbon ornaments: if your child is ready to learn how to tie bows, use wide ribbon to tie several bows for the tree. You can also fold ribbon back and forth in a zig zag (about 1” per zig…or zag), and then pull a needle and thread through all thicknesses to make a small stack of ‘ribbon candy’
5. Bead ornaments: Candy canes are a simple beading project – all you need are some wooden beads and a pipe cleaner (chenille stem). Bend the pipe cleaner into a cane shape and slip on the beads! Icicles are just as easy – simply string 6 or 7 beads and buttons, and loop onto a tree branch.
If you have any special handmade ornament ideas that you use year after year, let us know about it!