This holiday season we’re focusing more on being together with family and friends than on the commercial aspect of the month, which is our usual tradition. A lot of the gifts we’re giving are homemade and as fun to put together as they are to bestow on our loved ones. Every year we normally buy exquisite (read expensive) Christmas ornaments for my mother-in-law, but this year we had a beautiful homemade set for her to take home when she visited for Thanksgiving!

If you don’t celebrate Christmas or need to make a gift for anyone who does, these would be just as fun for your child to make for

• a decorative winter window garland (fill them with pine needles, paper snowflakes, dried leaves, etc.)
• a birthday party accent matching the party’s theme or colors (fill with confetti, cover with stickers of her favorite character, or paint with the party’s colors and hang from the ceiling)
• a family tree (paste or Mod Podge on family photos and hang from a wire tree or stick them into a styrofoam wreath or tree)
• a festive New Year’s Eve display (fill with sparkly odds and ends or glitter paint them)
• Chanukkah or Kwanzaa (just modify the colors)

Who says ornaments are just for Christmas anyway?

Materials

• Glass or plastic ornaments (we used glass since my philosophy is to let the kids handle everything so they understand the weight and fragility of an object now and avoid becoming butter fingers when they grow up … like their dad)
• Lightweight baubles or fillers (styrofoam balls covered in glitter or sequins; sequins; fake snow; feathers; ribbon; shredded paper; etc.)
• Stickers
• Paint
• Elmer’s Spray Adhesive
• Loose glitter

Bauble-Filled Ornament

Your toddler can fill an ornament with just about anything, as long as it’s lightweight. Easy!

Ribbon-Filled Ornament

Let your toddler stuff a ribbon into the ornament and you’ve got instant holiday sparkle! We used leftover glittery polka dot ribbon from the Diaper Cake I made for the Sugar & Spice & Everything Nice Baby Shower.

Paint Swirl Ornament

Simply squirt some paint into the ornament and shake, rattle and roll it!

Glitter Glue Decorated Ornament

Just draw on a design and you’re done! (No, Jane did not do this one).

Glitter-Filled Ornament

Coat the inside of an ornament with spray adhesive and lightly tap some glitter into the orb, shaking gently to distribute it evenly. This is better for an older toddler or you!

Five more ornament decorating ideas:

• Decorate the globes with stickers
• Add googly eyes and paint to make a reindeer, penguin or other winter animal
• Mod podge or paste on family photos, sheets of music or colorful paper to the ornaments
• Fill the ornaments with Easter grass or shredded paper
• Turn your orb into a terrarium with soilless plants or succulents

Happy Holidays!

Parents and friends: for more ideas, activities, and inspiration for #RaisingThinkingKids, click on an icon below to join us on Facebook, Pinterest, Google+ and Twitter.

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Chrissy – who has written 426 posts on The Outlaw Mom® Blog - Creative Living in a Conventional World.

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