A Christmas tree and a heart have been decorated with Christmas thread and jewels.

Special Salt Cookie Ornaments That Will Make a Child’s Tree Shine

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Happy Friday everyone!

As we inch ever closer to Christmas day, I wanted to squeeze in another crafty post. This post features some easy Christmas decorations- that are perfect for children. If your child has a small Christmas tree of their own- or they like to decorate the family Christmas tree- then this may be the perfect craft for them. Please join me, and my Happy Hawks Homeschool crew, as we bake- and paint, our homemade salt cookie ornaments. 

These homemade ornaments are inexpensive and very easy to make. After baking the ornaments in the oven, and allowing them to cool, the salt cookie ornaments can be painted and hung on the Christmas tree. Or they can be given as thoughtful gifts. 

My children always enjoy making these special Christmas ornaments. Therefore, it is our hope that you find joy in making them too.

Let’s get busy, for Christmas is just around the corner. No time to dilly and no time to dally!

Lovely salt cookie ornaments that have been painted and decorated.

~Nonedible Cookie Ornaments~

When you were a child, did a schoolteacher or parent ever make salt cookie ornaments with you? Perhaps you received a salt cookie ornament as a gift? Or, if you had a naughty older sibling, you may have even received a salt cookie as part of a prank.

I can recall making salt cookie ornaments in the second grade. Much later, we also made these ornaments in my high school art class. My teachers allowed me, and my classmates, to decorate these charming cookie ornaments as a fun Christmas project. 

Salt cookie ornaments can last for years. In fact, I think my mom still has some of my old school ornaments. Packed in a box, on top of a shelf somewhere. Actually, I have a reindeer on my tree right now that is from my high school years. Believe it or not- it is still in relatively good nick.

Simple salt cookie ornaments are tied to nostalgic memories of my childhood.  They bring joy to me when I look at them. That is why I decided it would be fun to make a batch of these ornaments with my children this Christmas season. 

~The Benefits of Crafts for Children~

My children adore a good craft. In fact, we often utilize crafts (on a daily basis) as a part of our homeschool lessons. As an educator, I am an advocate for children using their creativity and imagination. Especially, while using their hands and their minds.

Crafts help to develop fine motor skills, but they also help to develop outside of the box thinking. Working quietly on a focused project can increase attention span and can also be therapeutic. 

Some days we can all benefit from a quiet craft. 

~The Salt Cookie Ornament Recipe~

The salt cookie ornaments are raw when they receive a hole at the top. The hole will allow a string to thread through for hanging.
Elizabeth

Salt Cookie Ornaments

Salt cookie ornaments are a non-edible decorative ornament to place on a Christmas tree. The salt cookie dough is baked and then painted. These ornaments are easy to make and fun for the whole family to be involved in.
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 10 minutes
Total Time 2 hours
Servings: 2 dozen
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

  • 4 cups All- Purpose Flour
  • 1 cup Salt
  • 1 3/4 cup Warm Water *Add the water slowly as you may need a bit less. (You just want the dough to come together so that it can be rolled out- without being too dry- or too sticky).

Method
 

  1. Preheat oven to 275 degrees F. Using a medium sized mixing bowl, add the dry ingredients to the bowl. Slowly add the warm water until a soft dough is formed.
  2. Lightly flour a workspace and roll the salt cookie dough out to about a 1/4-inch thickness. (Too thin and the baked dough may break, too thick and the baked dough may puff out. Experiment with your perfect thickness based on desired effect).
  3. Using your favorite Christmas cookie cutters, cut out your ornament shapes.
  4. Add a small hole to the top of each ornament-for a ribbon or a string to go through. (This is so that you can hang the ornament on the tree… once the dough is baked). (A straw is the perfect tool for this. Alternately, you can use a toothpick).
  5. On a lined baking sheet, bake the salt cookie ornaments for approximately 1-2 hours. (Lower the temperature slightly if your ornaments seem to be browning too quickly). Bake just until the salt cookies are hard. Remove from the oven and allow the ornaments to dry.
  6. Decorate your salt cookie ornaments with paint, jewels, beads, and glitter. Use Christmas ribbon or string to create hanging loops through the top holes. Once your ornaments are dry, they are ready to hang on the Christmas tree or give as gifts.

Notes

*You can add a finishing spray to help preserve these salt cookie ornaments. Salt is a natural preservative- so these cookies will last quite a while without any added finishing sprays.

 

~Into the Kitchen~

When I told my children we were going to be making homemade salt cookie ornaments- as a part of their school lesson-they were thrilled. Of course, I had to remind them that we were entering the kitchen for crafting, not eating. 

Allow me rewind to Tuesday evening: dad was working late, and it was beginning to get dark. I decided it would be best to make the dough (and bake our ornaments), so that the ornaments would have plenty of time to cool. Therefore, I asked the children if they wanted to make the ornaments into the night with me. A resounding, “Yes, mom!” erupted in the room… and so we began.

Once the dough was kneaded, the children helped me roll out the dough to a quarter of an inch thickness. After this, they each picked their favorite Christmas cookie cutters. Once the shapes were cut, we placed them on a lined baking sheet.

Just before going into the oven, we used a straw to cut little holes at the tops of our ornaments. Ensuring that our shapes could receive a twine loop- thus allowing our ornaments to hang on a tree.

~How to Prepare the Salt Cookie: ~

The ingredients for the salt cookie ornaments are waiting to be mixed and transformed into a dough to make ornaments from.
*Simple ingredients: salt, flour, water.
Warm water in a glass jug and a Christmas hand towel on a kitchen counter.
*A Christmas tea towel (found at a thrift store) adds an elegant, festive touch to the countertop.
Salt and flour are in a glass mixing bowl waiting for the warm water to be added to create the salt cookie ornament dough.
*The flour and the salt are the "stars" of the show. I love that the sun showed up just in time to play along.
The salt cookie ornament mix is being mixed in a mixing bowl.
*Using your fingers to rub the dough together yields the best results. Feeling the dough's consistency allows you to gauge how much water is needed for a pliable dough.

~The Next Step: Kneading, Rolling, and Cutting: ~

The finished salt cookie ornament dough has been kneaded and is ready to roll out and cut into shapes.
*This salty dough is therapeutic to work with.
Salt cookie dough has been rolled to a 1/4 inch thickness and is soon to be cut out with Christmas cookie cutters.
*A lightly floured surface ensures the salt cookie dough does not stick to the countertop, making it much easier to remove the cut shapes.
Salt cookie ornaments are being cut out and set aside for baking in the oven.
*These vintage cookie cutters were given to us by a dear neighbor, who sadly is no longer living. She would have used these same cookie cutters with her children. Therefore, it is a joy to honor her memory- as we continue receiving joy from her cookie cutters.
Salt cookie dough is being cut out with cookie cutters on a kitchen countertop.
*I set aside several hearts and stars for a separate idea... which you will see below.
The children helping to cut out the salt cookie ornaments before placing the ornaments into the oven.
*Little hands are always eager to be involved. Basically, this dough is like playdough, so the youngest enjoys reaching for this soft- familiar dough.

~The One Trick That Transforms the Dough into an Ornament~

Whatever you do, don’t forget to punch little holes in the tops of your ornaments. Punching the holes, transforms the dough from just a baked shape… to an ornament. Ornaments need to be hung, so punching the hole at the top allows a string to be threaded through. Therefore, creating a simple hanging hook.

I have found that a paper straw is the perfect ornament hole puncher, but a toothpick would work as well.

Whatever tool you use will work, just don’t forget to put your holes in the tops before baking. I speak from experience when I say, it is painful to prepare, and bake, these little guys for over an hour… only to discover you forgot to punch the holes. Don’t let that be you… as it has certainly been me. 

So, consider this your friendly reminder.

Unbaked salt cookie ornaments on a lined baking sheet.
*First they are just cute Christmas shapes....
The unbaked salt cookie ornaments recieve a small hole at the top. The hole is made by using a straw to create a perfect little circle.
*Now they recieve holes in the top to transform the shapes into the ornaments.
The salt cookie ornaments are raw when they receive a hole at the top. The hole will allow a string to thread through for hanging.
*I love seeing these familiar Christmas shapes on a baking sheet. Talk about nostalgia.

~Out of the Oven~

Truly, it is a shame these salt cookies do not taste as good as they look. Unless of course you are a deer- then you may like them as they taste like a salt lick. 

Frequently, I have to remind my youngest child not to taste these cookies…tempting as they may be.

The salt cookie ornaments have come out of the oven and cooled. They are ready to be decorated by children.

~How to Paint and Decorate Your Salt Cookie Ornaments~

Naturally, we saved the best part (decorating) for the next morning. It is always nice to have something extra fun to look forward too.

The children know the routine: gather the art supplies and meet me at the table. From there we laid out aluminum foil and paper towels… to keep the mess at bay. (If keeping the mess of four little children at bay is even a viable effort?) 

With one child interjecting, “I’ll take the Christmas tree, mom!” Another stating, “I’ll take the star, mommy!”… and so it went.

One child preferred a monochromatic theme- using only green. Another child is like me- and enjoyed using pinks and slightly less Christmasy colors. Still another child, was very strategic and neat with his designs. The baby, well…she didn’t have a preference because as we worked-she napped.

I am convinced that some activities are best done when the baby naps. Afterall, the mess is slightly less with three children… rather than four. Especially when paint and glitter are involved.

Here are their magnificent Christmas creations:

Painted salt cookie ornaments are lying on a table to dry.
*Sprinkling the glitter just around the rim of the ornaments was a popular technique amongst our group.
Salt cookie ornaments that have been decorated by children and are ready to hang on the Christmas tree.
The salt cookie ornaments after they have been dressed and decorated.

~Spray Paint Glitter~

Remembering my glitter spray paint trick inspired us to spray many of our ornaments. (I believe this will also help to further preserve them). We did this part outside in the yard. Glitter is one thing, but spray paint glitter is a “whole ‘nother beast”. In my opinion, this “beast” is best kept outside.

This step is not entirely necessary, as old-fashioned glue and glitter can achieve the same end effect, but the spray paint did create an even coverage in the end.

And actually, we used regular glitter inside the house as well as bows and jewels… so I suppose you could say that we covered all eventualities.

~Final Step: Adding the Salt Cookie Ornaments to the Christmas Tree~

All that was left to do, was to add our creations to the Christmas tree. This year my husband surprised our children by getting a little Christmas tree for their bedrooms. One for the girl’s room, and one for the boy’s room. We bought them each an ornament that symbolized something important in their year (you can see that tradition on Facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1aXSzmSSCC/).

The children enjoyed putting their homemade cookie ornaments on their trees. I could see the pride in their little eyes as they hung each crafted piece.

Some painted salt cookie ornaments on a boy's Christmas tree.
*The boy's tree:
A painted salt cookie Christmas tree hanging on a child's christmas tree.
*Girl's tree:
Decorated salt cookie ornaments hanging on a little girl's Christmas tree.
The salt cookie ornaments have been painted by children and are now being used a Christmas decoration on their tree.

~How to Make a Salt Cookie Ornament Garland~

The salt cookie ornaments where so cute that I had another idea mid-way through making the dough. Why not make a garland of the ornaments to use as a decoration?

My immediate thought was to use the garland as a table center decoration. This idea then evolved into a few more iterations.  Of course, I will share all of these ideas with you.

The salt cookie ornaments will soon be transformed into a garland to decorate for Christmas.
*The two holes in the top where for the garland ornaments. This allowed them to lie fat on the twine- as opposed to hanging and constantly twisting.
The salt cookie ornaments with two holes at the top are to be made into a garland. These have been painted pink with gold polka dots.
My pink chalk paint began to crackle as it dried. I loved this effect as it made it look aged.
The salt cookie ornaments have been painted and are ready to be threaded onto a garland twine.
A garland of salt cookie ornaments glittering in the sunshine.
Homemade salt cookie garland draped over the back of a cozy armchair.

~The Salt Cookie Garland Three Ways~

~First~

Garlands look great displayed in a myriad of ways. Sometimes, I like to show off a garland on a piece of wooden furniture like a bookcase or a dresser. I think this adds a vintage charm. 

The salt cookie ornament garland being used to decorate a family bookcase.
The salt cookie garland close up to see the glitter and color.

~Second~

I then decided to try the garland out on our family Christmas tree. Ideally, this would be somewhere in the center- so that the garland does not get lost amongst all the other competing ornaments.

My painted salt cookie ornaments are now decorating the family Christmas tree.
My salt cookie ornaments decorating a Christmas tree,

~Third~

Remember my post last week sharing some jubilant handmade Christmas art?

I displayed that art in my home’s hallway. In this way, the children can delight in their artwork as they walk to their bedrooms.

Therefore, I decided that this would also be a lovely place to display the salt cookie ornament garland that the children helped me make. Not to mention that the colors were very similar, so the projects complimented each other.

This was my favorite place to display the garland.

A garland made out of salt cookie ornaments that have been decorated in a festive way.
A close up of the salt cookie garland being used as a decoration.
A salt cookie garland hanging in the hallway to decorate for Christmas.

~Inexpensive Christmas Decorations~

Salt cookie ornaments are inexpensive and easy to make… but they are also versatile. They can be used to decorate a Christmas tree (absolutely), but they can also be tied onto wrapped gifts as a little personalized tag. Or these ornaments could be used to mark a Christmas place setting (perhaps laying one on each plate). They could also be used to decorate a Christmas door wreath. 

These homemade crafts are also perfect to give as a gift to a schoolteacher or a dear friend.  The possibilities are endless.

~Timeless Christmas Decorating~

I still have salt cookie ornament on my Christmas tree that I made twenty years ago when I was in high school. These ornaments are still going strong.

Salt is a natural preserver- so these ornaments (if stored properly) can last for a very long time. To extend their life further- the ornaments can be sprayed with a finishing spray. I used my glitter spray paint as a finishing touch. I believe this will prolong their life for years to come… but if not, these ornaments are so easy -and so fun to make- that I would not be sad if I had to make them again.

How about you guys- have you ever made salt cookie ornaments? 

~Until Next Time~

In conclusion to another creative post, I will leave you all to tend to my precious children. Reminding myself to slow down and savor the moments I have with them while they are young. For these moments do not last long. 

Savor the moments before Christmas by enjoying simple, lovely, ordinary things. 

Stay tuned for my next post which will feature a beautiful English dessert. Almost too pretty to be eaten- but too delicious not to consume. 

Visit my https://www.facebook.com/share/p/17q2r9fXg5/ and (1) Pinterest page- for more Christmas fun. And please, feel free to subscribe or share my post with those you care about. 

See you soon,

~Elizabeth~

Vintage HomCo Christmas children bought from a thrift store and now decorating a powder room.

2 thoughts on “Special Salt Cookie Ornaments That Will Make a Child’s Tree Shine”

  1. Sherry Veal

    Again, I feel like I’m your cozy kitchen watching your sweet children enjoy creating. I have a few of these type ornaments on my tree out Anna & John made when they were little. They are priceless!!
    Merry Christmas to you and your sweet family!

    1. Elizabeth

      Yes mam, the homemade ornaments are the most special.
      How sweet, I am sure you treasure the ornaments your -now grown- babies made when they were small.
      Merry Christmas to you, Mrs. Sherry- and to your family as well. Please, tell them all I said hello!

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