There are many fun opportunities to involve our kids in creating special holiday memories. Some are messier than others! It seems that there is a direct correlation between the messiness of the project and the amount of fun the kids have creating it. So, to help you get started, we are posting two similar Christmas ornament craft ideas…one is significantly more messy than the other. The one you choose is completely up to you, Mom. Regardless, make sure everyone is having fun and that you aren’t feeling rushed to get them done. The real memories are in the process of the project, not the outcome.
Depending on the age and attention span of your child, you will want to pre-read the instructions to determine how much you should do ahead of time to save youself some hassle. For example, you might want to make the dough for the cookie ornament craft in advance and bring your kids in for the rolling and cutting of the dough. If your child is not good with scissors then, for the felt craft, you might want to pre-trace and cut the felt and rickrack for them to avoid frustrating mishaps. You know your child best, give it some thought and pre-planning to make the craft go as smoothly and with as many smiles as possible.
Gingerbread Cookie Ornaments
(makes approx. 24 ornaments, depending on the size of cookie cutter you use)
1 c. applesauce
1 c. cinnamon (or ¾ c. cinnamon & ¼ c. ground cloves)
¼ c. Elmer’s glue
1. In a medium bowl, mix together 1 cup ground cinnamon and 1 cup applesauce using a rubber spatula or wooden spoon.
2. Stir in 1/4 cup glue. Stir the dough until consistency is smooth and dry. Let stand in refrigerator for 1 hour.
3. Turn out one-quarter of dough onto a cool, flat surface sprinkled with cinnamon; flatten with your hands.
4. Sprinkle top of dough with more cinnamon and flatten with a rolling pin to 1/4 inch thick. If dough becomes too dry, spritz with water. If it sticks to rolling pin or work surface, sprinkle with additional cinnamon.
5. Using cookie cutters, cut out various designs. Place ornaments onto a parchment-lined baking sheet.
6. With a straw or bamboo skewer, poke a hole in the dough in the spot where you would like to insert a ribbon or hook for hanging. Air-dry ornaments on a wire rack lined with paper towels for 24 hours, turning them over every 6 hours or so to keep them flat. Alternatively, preheat oven to 200 degrees. Transfer ornaments to a baking sheet; bake, flipping as needed to keep them flat, until dry, about 2 hours.
7. Once the dough has dried completely, you can simply string them with a ribbon or decorate them as desired using glitter glue pens, beads, etc.
Felt Gingerbread Ornaments
(adapted from Parents Magazine’s Craft Corner)
Materials:
- Chalk
- Gingerbread man template
- Stiffened Felt (brown)
- Kid-friendly scissors
- Craft glue (Elmer’s glue does not hold as well on the felt)
- 5mm white pom poms or small buttons
- Scraps of rickrack and yarn
- One-hole punch
- Ribbons
- Using a template, trace a gingerbread man onto the brown felt and cut out.
- Decorate the gingerbread man by gluing the pom poms for buttons and eyes, the yarn for a mouth and the rickrack to outline the hands and feet or make other designs on the ornaments.
- Punch a hole in the top of the ornament and thread the piece of ribbon through to hang.
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