When I was growing up, my parents had an artificial Christmas tree and ornaments that coordinated with the living room decor. It looked lovely, but (to me) felt more like a store display than a family tree. I was determined that my own tree would always be a live tree filled with ornaments that have meaning, and I think I have succeeded! Every year, our tree (which goes up the Saturday after Thanksgiving, without fail!) has a hodge-podge of different ornaments and randomly colored lights, none of which coordinate with each other or the room or anything at all. There are gifted ornaments, silly ornaments, ornaments purchased at milestone moments, personalized ornaments, and, of course, there are a lot of handmade ornaments. Ever since my son was born I have tried to make Christmas ornaments as gifts for family members, and we always keep a handful to add to our tree. Here are two simple ornament crafts that you can try with your littles (but I don’t recommend these if you’re aiming for a tree that would feature in a magazine!).
Salt Dough
Lots of sensory fun with this one.
- Make some salt dough or gingerbread salt dough!
- Let your kids loose with cookie cutters and playdoh tools to create shapes (I’m all for unrestricted creativity with very small kids, but this post has a lot of great ideas if you’re looking for a more structured project!). Don’t forget to pierce a hole in each one using a straw.
- Bake.
- Add paint and glitter (I let my kids do the paint, but I handled the glitter!).
- Coat with a clear spray lacquer on both sides.
I did plain salt dough with my then 20-month-old a couple of years ago, then tried gingerbread salt dough this year with both my kids, which has the added bonus of making your house smell awesome! I really like how the gingerbread ornaments look.
Foam and pompoms
This is SUPER easy for any age. You can spend as much or as little time as you like on this, so it’s perfect for easily-distracted kids or those that don’t like to stay still (both apply to my son).
- Obtain some holiday foam shapes, pompoms, and beads in holiday colors. These are available at any craft store.
- Cover each foam shape with a thin wiggle of glue and hand to your kid to cover with pompoms and beads.
- Let dry. See, ridiculously easy?! The hardest part with this one is not going nuts when shopping for holiday craft supplies.
We did this last year, when my son was 2.5 years old (my then 3-month-old daughter mostly tried to eat pompoms).
Hang them all and enjoy your “eclectic” tree! Be sure to add your child’s name and the year on the back of each.
