Making homemade ornaments is a fun way to keep the family involved in decorating for Christmas together, but you can also save any of these for great keepsakes later on. Here are some simple, inexpensive ornaments you can do at home with the whole family that will last for generations to come.
Five homemade Christmas tree ornament ideas that will turn into keepsakes
Pretty As a Picture
Buy a few inexpensive, small frames at your local craft store and have each person fill it with a piece of scrapbook paper or fabric from an old quilt, sweatshirt, or other item of clothing of theirs they no longer want or need. Attach ribbon to the back as the hanger.
Glass Globe of Glamour
Those glass ornaments you can buy at around $1 each are bare and plain, until you dress them up. Have each person in your family choose something sentimental or eye-catching to them to place in the glass ornament. Maybe your son really wants to preserve one of his favorite Matchbox cars, or your daughter has a tiny glass figurine she wants to keep safe. Have them place their items in the globe and glue them in place (use tweezers to help). These will look great for years to come!
Jolly Old Saint Nick Is Watching
Have each person choose a Santa picture they enjoy and print it out from an online source. Glue the photo to a small piece of thin wood and attach a hanger to the back. Date the bottom and write the name of the family member on each of their own Santa. This can work with snowmen, snowflakes, and anything else you can think of. They will last and in 20 years you can remember what it was like picking out Santa faces and talking about when the old jolly man would visit Christmas Eve.
Unlock the Love
Do you still have the key to your first home, even though you’ve probably lived in 10 different places since then? Spray paint it white, write the date on it in Sharpie marker, and run a red ribbon through it. It’s now an ornament. Do this with any old keys you have for a trip down memory lane.
Fingerprints, Please
Buy a plain white ceramic ornament and an ink pad. Stamp everyone’s fingerprints on the ornament, and then bake it at 350 degrees for 30 minutes to seal the ink on it. This will make a fantastic tree ornament for the whole family to enjoy over the years.
TIPS:
Do each of these every year for a tradition.
For an eclectic tree, do one of these every year to create a different ornament each time.
If you want uniformity, but like all of these ideas, do them all in black, white, and red only.
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