Our little Lola just turned 6 on November 29th! She is such a fun little girl, so playful, social, determined, loving and a little wild one. She adds so much to our little family- just pure joy. She knew exactly what she wanted to do for her Birthday Party. We were talking about options and I mentioned a bounce house. She thought about it and said “If we do that then everyone will not be together.” She had a good point! So she came up with the idea for a party at our house (ahhhh) with a craft, games, pizza and cake. She really liked what we did for her sisters birthday party (you can read about that HERE). I knew that 6 year olds would need an easy craft. So I came up with the idea to make Christmas Ornaments. They were a hit!
I had to share her birthday cake. She knew she wanted a chocolate cake with chocolate frosting. Done! You can find our favorite recipe HERE. And that cake topper is the cutest thing, I found that HERE.
Here are the party animals. 1o LOUD 6 year olds. Full of energy and spunk. I pulled up extra little stools and had some stand while we made our Christmas Ornaments. There were actually 12 girls including my 8 year old and her friend all crammed into our little home. I had them color a picture when they arrived and while we waited for everyone. After they made their Christmas Ornaments I sent them to the unfinished basement, I did lay big rugs down and turned on music and lamps and they danced. Pizza, Charades (which was really fun with them) Twister, Cake and Ice-cream…and one happy Birthday Girl!
I had a couple of the moms text me after wanting to know how we made the Christmas Ornaments- so I thought I would share. I had to make it the next day to figure out exactly what I did and here is the result-
I found the recipe originally HERE– I have made couple of tweaks and extra words of advice.
She called it “Better than Salt Dough” I have never made Salt Dough before. I just know that I like the bright white color of this recipe and people complain about the salt on their skin….so I guess I would too:)
All you need is-
1/2 cup Cornstarch + another 1/4 cup to mix in after
1 cup Baking Soda
3/4 cup water
Mix all of that together over medium heat. I kept stirring mine the entire time- like caramel. You stir it until it looks like mashed potatoes, gets pretty think and you can’t see any runny water. Take it off heat and put it in a bowl and cover with a damp cloth. Let it cool for about an hour on the counter. Both times I made it it was still really sticky. I added exactly 1/4 cup Cornstarch to thicken it after it cooled and it made it less sticky.
You can lay them out on parchment paper to air dry over night. Or we cooked ours in the oven at 175 for an hour. Flip them in the middle of baking to get both sides dried out.
One batch makes about 24 ornaments
You can use a little Cornstarch on your rolling pin- just like you would flour when making sugar cookies. The trick to make them not break and fall apart easily is to do them not too thin. I would say about a quarter of an inch thick.
I didn’t get a picture of all of the girls ornaments. They were all so unique and cute. All of the girls really enjoyed it. I wrote their names on the parchment paper next to their ornament before I baked them to keep track of what one went to who. I placed them in little clear cellophane bags with a couple of chocolates and called it their goodie bag.
When I made my second batch I used THESE cookie stamps. I LOVE how they turned out. I think this is going to be a tradition! I am going to use them as our Gift Tags on our Christmas presents this year!
Aren’t they SO dang cute! Can you tell how excited I am? I always struggle to find the perfect Christmas Tags…not anymore. They even make darling ornaments.
Had to share one more of these sweetie pie blowing out her Birthday candle (that she requested on her Crepes in the morning, a birthday tradition you can read about HERE). Gosh I just love her so.
Let me know if you make the Christmas Gift Tags or make them as ornaments! Happy Holiday Party or Happy Birthday…whatever you are inspired for!
Oh how was is this. Looks like a fabulous Birthday party and the tags are amazing.
Thank you so much Marty!
How sweet that Lola wanted the party at your house. That certainly says something about the feeling of home you have created. 🙂
Oh that is sweet Kristin- thank you!
The ornaments look lovely! I’ll have to try them – I don’t really like those itchy hands you get from working with salt dough… Have you tried to color them? I think they would look great if you added just a bit of red, but I’m not sure about what kind of color you could use… (nailpolish?!) Funny, if you take cornstarch and baking soda and mix it with coconut oil and a few drops of essential oils instead, you’ll get a great deodorant. For me, it works better than any storebought brand: it leaves us stinkfree and doesn’t leave those yellow stains on our clothes. Who knew that deodorant and ornaments for Christmas have so much in common!
Who knew about the deodorant! Smarty! I read that you could add food coloring to them- I was worried about staining hands or my table and counters. You could paint them after you bake them and they are dry. Let me know if you try them!
First Happy Birthday Lola. I LOVE this idea. I read to two classes in Bridgeport every week and always give them a little something for Christmas and these will make perfect little tags for their “goody bags”. Thank you for sharing.
Oh that is so great! How sweet are you. They were fun to make- the kids will love them!
hey girl great post! Love the idea of the ornament!
Thank you Shawnna!