Homemade Christmas Tree Ornaments

Please don't tell my children. On Friday, we are going to make some delicious smelling Christmas tree ornaments, using our Nativity Cookie Cutter Set that my parents gave us the year we moved into our house. We still have some of the figures that we made that year and a couple of years later, but I know that the children will delight in making more. Plus, they make our house smell so good. Hopefully, the ornaments will be fully dry just in time to hang them on our Christmas tree on December 24.

Applesauce and Cinnamon CHRISTMAS TREE ORNAMENTS

Ingredients and Materials:

• 1 ½ cups ground cinnamon
  
• 1 cup applesauce
  
• ¼ cup white non-toxic school glue (optional; if you decide not to use glue, then increase the applesauce by ¼ cup)
  
• Bowl
  
• Saran wrap
  
• Rolling pins
  
• Wax paper
  
• Nativity Cookie cutters
  
• Ribbon, fishing line, thread, etc. for hanging
  
• Straws
  

Directions:

1. Mix cinnamon, applesauce, and glue together in a bowl. The dough should be as thick as cookie dough. If the dough isn’t thick enough, add a little more cinnamon. If it is too stiff, add a little water.
   
2. Remove dough from bowl and knead. Put it back in the bowl, cover with saran wrap and let it sit for a half hour.
   
3. Remove the dough, knead again until it is smooth (the smoother the dough, the better the ornaments look). Roll the dough between wax paper so that it is ¼ to ⅛ inch thick.
   
4. Cut out desired shapes with cookie cutters. Use a straw to punch a hole for the ribbon to hang.
   
5. Carefully place the shapes on a piece of clean wax paper. Turn the ornaments over regularly in order to prevent the ends from curling up and help them dry evenly. They will take about 5 days to dry.
   

Notes:

The ornaments will get smaller during the drying process.

Once the ornaments are dry, acrylic or fabric paints may be applied, if desired. We leave our ornaments plain.

I am sorry that I don't have photos, but all of our ornaments are still packed away.  I will try to add some next week.