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Christmas decorations are twice as much fun and twice as special when you make them with the kids! There are plenty of fun decorations that you can put together with a little help from your favorite little hands, but salt dough ornaments will quickly become your new favorite DIY decoration. The recipe is incredibly easy and eco friendly (and safe to eat!), and the crafts can be as simple or sophisticated as you like, which makes them great for all ages.

SEE ALSO: 5 Festive Hot Cocoa Recipes To Try This Holiday Season

The Recipe

Combine:
One part salt
Two parts flour
One part water
Preheat oven to 200¼F

Measuring in ÒpartsÓ means one part becomes the standard to which other ingredients are compared and measured. For example, if you use one cup of salt, you will need two cups of flour. Now, knead until you get a smooth dough texture. It’s like working with play dough! If you aren’t planning to paint your dough later and want to add a little scent, a tablespoon of cinnamon mixed into the dough will keep your tree smelling like Christmas all season long.  

The Crafts

Salt dough is an incredibly versatile tool that will allow you to make it into a wide variety of shapes. You can make hand and footprint crafts that will commemorate the exact size of your child’s hands and feet at just this age, even turning them into reindeer, Santa Claus, or Olaf the snowman. Dried salt dough is great for painting, so the possibilities are endless!

If youÕd like a more unified lookÐÐespecially one that you can mass produce to hang from your tree or use as gift tags for all of your friends and familyÐÐyou can also use cookie cutters to shape your ornaments like anything you can imagine; snowmen, reindeer, and gingerbread men, candy canes, you name it! You can also try adding a few drops of food coloring and kneading it into the dough to give you a bright, cheerful hue (gel colors work very well). Vegetable juice can be used as dye, too! For example, in Tidal CreekÕs bakery, we are always experimenting, and just two or three drops of beet juice can get you a vibrant pink hue. Carrot and spinach or kale make great dyes as well.

Note: since you’re making ornaments, make sure that you put a hole in each one that’s big enough to pass yarn or a ribbon through. If you don’t put the hole in before baking, it will be very difficult to hang your ornament later! Should your hole come out smaller than intended, a yarn needle can make threading your ribbon easier.

SEE ALSO: 7 Great Gift Ideas For The Healthy Eater In Your Life

Finishing Up

Once you’ve designed all of your holiday ornaments, bake them at 200¼ Fahrenheit for two and a half to three hours. Make sure that your ornaments are completely dry when you pull them out of the oven! If they aren’t completely dry, they can sit out overnight to finish drying, but the edges may curl, changing the final appearance of your craft. Make sure that the ornaments are completely dry before moving to the next step.

Next, paint your ornaments. If you’re using multiple colors or a complicated design, make sure to allow each layer to dry before adding another one. Once the paint has dried completely, coat your ornaments with a layer of Mod Podge or glue to help add some extra shine. Note: if you’re using cinnamon-scented ornaments, skip the glue application, as it will interfere with the scent of your craft.

Finally, thread yarn or ribbon through the holes left on your ornaments, and hang them on your tree! This is a great craft that the kids can participate in from start to finish, making it a perfect activity for parents with little ones at home. Your ornaments can decorate your tree, hang from packages to give them a special touch, or be added to wreaths. You can dangle them from your doors, hang them over your stockings, and use them anywhere else your heart desires.

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