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Easy Homemade Oranments

By Sara Yaniga, Macaroni Kid Chicago (Midtown) December 12, 2020

One of my favorite things about the winter holiday season are the moments I get to spend working alongside my family to create a keepsake for years to come and creating traditions and memories for my children to pass along to their families and friends one day.

As a kid I have memories of making homemade popcorn garland for the tree, tray after tray of Christmas cookies and homemade ornaments of all kinds.  This is a favorite, and simple, recipe for homemade cinnamon ornaments that can be used year after year.  All you need are a couple of ingredients, a rolling pin, some cookie cutters and a little ribbon or twine.

1) Mix equal portions of applesauce and cinnamon together.  This is a great sensory activity for the kids as the mixing is best done by hand.  Mix until you get a dough consistency, adding a little more cinnamon if too wet or loose consistency.  Once you get it into a ball you know it is ready to roll - literally!

2) Place the dough on a surface sprinkled with cinnamon, or between two pieces of plastic wrap and roll out flat. I aim for a thickness of about 1/2-inch because any thinner and they will be more fragile and if you make them thicker then the drying time will be lengthened considerably.





3) Use your cookie cutters, poke a hole in the top for an ornament hook or string to go later, and place on a baking sheet.  The hardest part is next and that is waiting for them to dry.  Options for this are:

  • Bake in the oven at 200 degrees for a couple of hours
  • Air dry but depending on your environment and size of ornament this can take anywhere from 1-3 days. This option is great for those with space to leave them and a desire to make this a multi-day event.

I suspect if you have a dehydrator that could be an option that falls somewhere between these two in regards to time, but I have not tried it personally.  

Now, it's up to you how you want to finish up your ornaments.  They are beautiful just as they are, so you may want to give them a coat of mod podge (or glue thinned with water) to seal them before displaying on a tree or as a garland.  If you happen to have paint, glitter and other crafty bits on hand I know many like to go all out on dressing up their ornaments before hanging them up.  If you make these, please share a pic and tag me at @macaroni_kid_chicago on Instagram!  I would love to see how they turned out.


If you love holiday crafts and sensory activities with the kids please check out my Easy Homemade Gingerbread Play Dough and Kitchen Creativity articles!










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