Creating Annual Christmas Ornaments With Your Kids
I realize there are people out there that find joy in going down to the Hallmark store and picking out an ornament each year. Paying that much for an ornament almost gives me a panic attack. I’m thrifty and crafty so the idea of making my own brings me much delight. Maybe that’s because in my own life, I cherish the ornaments I made by hand as a kid. When I had my first child 2 Christmas’s ago, I really wanted to start a tradition of a handmade ornament each year. You can do this too. It doesn’t really matter if your kid is 1 or 10, you can start this tradition anytime! Here are some ideas to inspire you to create an easy, simple ornament you can cherish for years to come! I’ll give some ideas for 3 different types of ornaments that you can create with your child that are simple, inexpensive and fun.
1- Felt Ornament-
To Make This Ornament You Need:
- Sheets of felt from Walmart or local craft store
- A pre-made monkey face from the felt applicae section of your craft store.
- White embroidery thread
- 1 white pom pom ball
- A little piece of yarn for hanging
- A needle
- Felt glue (optional)
I made this by cutting out the red circle then hand sewing on the green circle. I attached the money applicae with glue. I cut the little hat out of felt and hand stitched it to the monkeys head and the ornament. I hand stitched the word Christmas using green and white thread and also had stitched the word 1st on the hat. I also stitched the little white pom pom to the top of the hat.
You can make these without sewing with a little felt glue but I don’t mind hand stitching little projects. My son was born so close to Christmas that I made this several weeks before he was due just to ensure he had a handmade 1st Christmas Ornament.
2- Clay Hand Print Ornament-
To make this ornament you need:
- Bake-able clay from your local craft store or online (the picture below is simply a sample of what the clay packaging looks like.) I used red and white.
- Wooden Chop Stick or toothpick to make a hole for hanging on your tree (which I forgot to do).
- White acrylic paint
- Black puff paint
- String for hanging
- Fine point permanent marker.
With this ornament I simply flattened out the red clay and pressed his little hand into it. I formed a face out of the skin color clay (whatever complexion your Santa has) and then I made the hat out of white and red clay. Once I put all the clay pieces together and baked them according to the directions I went back with white acrylic paint and a paint brush and filled in the hand (Santa’s beard). I hung a string on the back with hot glue when everything else was hardened and dry. I used a fine point permanent pen and puff paint to do the date, face and name on the ornament.
I love the hand print ornaments because if you do these kind of ornaments you can compare their little hand sizes from year to year. These are my favorite!
3- Wood Ornament-
I painted the tree and my 2 year decorated it all by himself. He has a December birthday so I made this the craft at his play group birthday party. Each guest made one and took it home with their initial on it. No mess for the kids at all since it was all stickers and they love stickers!
To Make This You Will Need:
- Wooden tree
- Small can of green spray paint.
- 3-D gemstone stickers from your local craft store scrapbook sticker area
- Large letter stickers from craft store scrapbook sticker area.
- Piece of string for hanging
Hope these ideas have inspired you to make an ornament with your child this year! If you want more inspiration from other creative moms out there, check out my Pinterest Board with more “Annual Christmas Ornament” ideas.
Kim Anderson is the organized chaos loving author behind the Thrifty Little Mom Blog. She helps other people who thrive in organized chaos to stress less, remember more and feel in control of their time, money, and home. Kim is the author of: Live, Save, Spend, Repeat: The Life You Want with the Money You Have. She’s been featured on Time.com, Money.com, Good Housekeeping, Women’s Day, and more!