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Make holiday ornaments with your kids, even if you’re not Martha Stewart
Kristen Chase of CoolMomPicks | November 25th, 2008 - 2:35 PM
When it comes to my own holiday traditions, my fondest memories are of those involving the various ornament making sessions with my mom and my younger brother. Each year, my crafty and creative mom would pull out a bunch of organized craft supplies and we’d create everything from beaded Christmas balls to mini-gingerbread ornaments, all of which she’s since saved and now uses to decorate her tree every year.
So as my children get older and can actually do more than just make a gigantic mess, I’ve started my own tradition of yearly ornament making. But for someone whose craft closet contains nothing more than crayons, construction paper, and a few glue sticks, the idea of making ornaments can seem like a bit of a far stretch. However, I’ve found plenty of super simple ones that require nothing more than a few simple supplies and your kid’s little hands to create – no hot glue guns, special tools, or a sewing machine.
And whether you give the ornaments as gifts, hang them on the tree, or toss them in the “ornament retirement home” (ahem), it’s the time you’re spending with your kids that can be the best part of all. Well, at least until they start fighting.
Just combine cinnamon and applesauce until it forms a dough, roll out between two pieces of wax paper, and use your favorite cookie cutters to create different shapes. Make sure to poke a hole for the ribbon, and the let dry for around 5 days. No extra decoration necessary!
Mix salt, flour, and water to form a dough that’s perfect for cutting out various shapes. Once you’ve baked them, use acrylic paints to decorate, and spray with a finishing coat to preserve. Make sure you dress the kids in old shirts since acrylic paints aren’t necessarily kid friendly. And let your kids paint whatever they like – candy canes can most certainly be brown and purple.
These no-mess ornaments are a perfect way to occupy little fingers. Just grab a bunch of red and white chenille stems (that’s fancy for pipe cleaners), twist two colors together, and tie with a ribbon. Not only are they a great touch to any Christmas tree, but then you won’t get stuck with 400 old nasty candy canes.
Grab a few plain glass balls at your local craft store, along with acrylic paints and paintbrushes. Place the balls in an old egg carton, let you kids dip the stick end of the paintbrush and decorate the balls with dots. Add a name and date to personalize them, or just initials if you’re not so handy with a paintbrush.
Tell us about your homemade holiday ornaments!
Another great idea for the clear glass balls is to do a swirl design on the inside. Use acrylic paints–three or so different colors–and pour enough inside the open part on the top of the ball (the little metal pieces are removable)to completely coat the inside. Roll ball around in hands, being mindful of the opening, to swirl colors together. Let dry for several hours.
I received one of these as a gift several years ago from a close friend with small children. It is surprisingly pretty and one of my favorite ornaments to hang on my tree.
I’ve taken 2 small sheets of heavy scrapbook paper to “frame” a cut out 2×3 piece of my son’s finger paintings. He’s only 33 months (not even 3 yet) so they’re very “abstract” paintings right now. These make perfect gifts for his grandmother and uncles. To make, I cut out a larger piece for the back, glued the painting to it, and covered the edges with another piece of cardstock cut out like matting. Poke a hole in the top and run a piece of ribbon through for a hanger.
These make great gifts framed too, for grandparents. They really look like “real” art when using a glass frame and real matting.
[...] unknown wrote an interesting post today onMake holiday ornaments with your kids, even if youâ??re not Martha …Here’s a quick excerptEach year, my crafty and creative mom would pull out a bunch of organized craft supplies and we’d create everything from beaded Christmas balls to mini-gingerbread ornaments, all of which she’s since saved and now uses to decorate her … [...]