Advent Adventures: Make a Gift for Someone Else

I want my kids to understand that Christmas is not all about getting presents and Santa. It is also about giving, and family, and love, and hope, and all those other wonderful things. So, today's adventure is to make a gift for someone else. Knowing how much my kids like dough, I decided to go with salt dough ornaments. I have fond memories of doing this craft as a kid and thought the kids would really enjoy it. 

The recipe:

I mixed and kneaded the dough, then rolled it out and let the kids go to town.

Then we baked them for 2 hours at 250 degrees

Some of them did puff up just a little bit. I simply deflated the air bubbles when they first came out and they stayed down. There is also some cracking on some of the ornaments, but it adds to the charm of the handmade gifts I think.

When they were done, and cooled, we started painting. I had the kids use poster paints because I knew they would clean easily but be a little thicker than water colors.

When the paint was dry I sprayed both sides of the ornaments with clear spray paint to seal them. Then we strung ribbon through the holes so they could be hung on Christmas trees. 

Now we just have to wrap them up for Nana and Papa, Grandpa and Nana Jojo, Grandma, the dog and her friends, and everyone else who will be lucky enough to have these handmade gifts grace their tree.

To read more about advent adventures, go here.