Home › Christmas crafts for kids
✂️ Salt dough ornaments: easy recipe and ideas for kids
Age: 3+ · Time: 60 min
Salt dough ornaments are a holiday tradition in so many families: three pantry ingredients, a few cookie cutters, and a cozy afternoon of rolling, cutting and painting. Handprint ornaments especially become little time capsules that come out of the ornament box every December.
The dough is soft and easy to work with, so even preschoolers can roll and cut their own shapes.
Tips
- Use fine table salt, not coarse or kosher salt, for a smoother finish.
- Dough too sticky? Add a spoonful of flour. Too crumbly? Add a splash of water.
- Write the year on the back of each handprint ornament before sealing.
Ideas
- Handprint ornaments: press a hand into a large circle and trim around it with a butter knife.
- Gift tags: cut rectangles, press in names with a toothpick, and tie them onto presents.
- Textured stars: press lace, pine needles or a fork into the dough, then paint white or gold.
For little helpers
Kids can measure, mix, knead, roll, cut and paint. Grown-ups take care of the oven and the sealant.
You need
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup table salt
- 3/4 to 1 cup lukewarm water
- a mixing bowl and rolling pin
- Christmas cookie cutters
- a straw for making hanging holes
- a baking sheet and parchment paper
- acrylic or washable paint and brushes
- clear sealant or decoupage glue (for a grown-up)
- ribbon or twine
Steps
- In a bowl, mix the flour and salt. Add the water gradually, stirring, then knead with your hands for about 5 minutes until the dough is smooth and soft, like modeling clay.
- Preheat the oven to 250°F (120°C) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Roll the dough out to about 1/4 inch thick.
- Cut out shapes with cookie cutters, or press your child's hand into a circle of dough for a keepsake ornament.
- Poke a hanging hole near the top of each ornament with a straw.
- Bake for 2 to 3 hours, flipping halfway, until completely hard and dry. Thicker ornaments need more time. (No oven? Air-dry them on a rack for 2 to 3 days.)
- Let the ornaments cool completely, then paint them.
- When the paint is dry, a grown-up brushes on a clear sealant to protect them from moisture.
- Thread ribbon through the holes and hang them on the tree.
Questions
Why are my ornaments puffing up?
The oven is too hot. Keep it at about 250°F (120°C). If bubbles appear, prick them with a toothpick and lower the temperature a little.
Are salt dough ornaments safe around kids and pets?
The dough is non-toxic, but it is very salty and can make dogs seriously ill if they eat it. Hang ornaments high on the tree and supervise little ones.
How long do salt dough ornaments last?
Sealed and stored somewhere dry, they can last for decades. Wrap each one in tissue paper when you pack up the decorations.