How to Make Salt Dough Ornaments 

Posted by Sarah E. Sterk

We finally put up our Christmas tree last week and the kids are delighted with it! My daughter, however, thought that we still didn't have enough ornaments for the tree. I promised her that we would make more, and she held me to that promise! 

We've made a couple of different ornaments together in the past (shaking paint inside clear ornaments, pipe cleaner candy canes, etc) but I decided that I wanted to try making salt dough ornaments with her again. Previously, she helped me make some as gifts for family members, but the most that she could really do to help was mixing the dough and then putting some paint on the dry ornaments. 

This year, at age 4, she was able to do so much more of the project on her own! It's amazing how much kids learn as they grow up. The older your child is, the more the ornament project will be "their own". That being said, I think that a child as young as 2 (or even under 2) could be involved in the project at some capacity! We did most of our project while my two year old son was napping, but he did enjoy making a handprint ornament and I'm sure would have been delighted to paint one if we had saved one for him. 

Here's what we did if you want to try making some of your own: 

1) Set aside some time: If you want to paint your ornaments you'll probably need at least two days to complete the project. We spread everything out over three different afternoons, all while little brother was napping. 

2) Gather ingredients: We used salt, flour, water, cookie cutters, parchment paper, a rolling pin, a metal straw, acrylic paint, paint brushes, Mod Podge, and thin ribbon to create our ornaments. You can adjust what you use depending on the age of your kids and how durable you want the finished product to be!

3) Create the ornaments: I mostly followed the instructions found here to mix the salt dough and then cut out and bake the ornaments.

              

4) Decorate the ornaments: My daughter painted the ornaments on one day and added a layer of Mod Podge the next day. I was pleasantly surprised with how nice a layer of glitter paint looked on the ornaments!

5) Sign the ornaments: I wrote "2020" in permanent marker on each of the ornaments we made. I also had my daughter sign her name (she always gets excited to use a Sharpie) on the back of ornaments that we are giving as gifts.

6) Send the ornaments to their final destination: My daughter chose 2 favorite ornaments to put on our tree. The rest are going to preschool teachers, friends, and family members. It was cute to see how she decided on who would receive each ornament! 

Both my daughter and I love crafting. I'm so happy that we've (accidentally) started a Christmas tradition that we can continue as she grows!