Kids Craft: How to Make Spiced Dough Ornaments

by Adrienne Bolton on December 20th, 2012 | 1 Comment »

Christmas craft—Creating Christmas memories with my kids is one of my favorite jobs as a mom. Both of my boys seem to light up on December 1st with an excitement and joy I wish I could bottle and sell! Even though they're getting older, they still love the activities we do as a family during the holiday season. Hot cocoa, Christmas lights, baking, and crafts! No Christmas is complete without at least some of those things. It's all just so darn fun! We take a super long winter break that I strategically schedule in at the beginning of the school year (Thank you, homeschooling!), and I try really hard to make time to pause and play.

One of our all time favorite activities is making spiced dough ornaments. These handmade ornaments make the perfect gift for loved ones, and they magically keep their Christmas-y scent year after year. People love them!

And the best part? They make your whole house smell like Christmas! Yes, please.

How to Make Spiced Dough Ornaments

Supplies:

1 cup cinnamon
1 tablespoon ground cloves
1 tablespoon ground ginger
1 tablespoon ground nutmeg
1 cup applesauce
2 tablespoons of glue
Optional: add food coloring or glitter
A few tablespoons of all purpose flour

Directions:

Combine and mix all the dry ingredients, add glue and applesauce. Let the kids add the ingredients all by themselves.

What kid doesn't want to mix glue, applesauce, and spices together?

Roll out the dough mixture on a floured surface.

Create shapes with cookies cutters.

Use a small straw to make holes for a string later.

Now here's the best part. You don't have to bake these! The ornaments will air dry in about 2-3 days. In the meantime, your house will smell amazing!

Did you notice that we have dinosaurs, ghosts, dolphins, and alligators in the assortment? Rule #1 when crafting with kids: Let them be creative!

These pictures of my boys are from a couple of years ago. Looking back at them reminded me how fast our time with our children goes by. My boys are now 14 and 8. They still love to make these. Out of all the activities we've done over the years, this is the one thing they still ask for! Take time to make a new Christmas memory with your kids this year!

Do you make ornaments with your kids during the holidays? Do you keep them or give them as gifts?

Adrienne is a mom of two boys and blogger at www.themommymess.com, where she writes with an honest voice about the mess of motherhood, marriage, and homeschool. Be sure to connect with her on Facebook and follow her as @TheMommyMess on Twitter.