Paper Ornaments for Kids

I have decided that for the month of December I am going to do at least one holiday-related project with Lily (and then blog about it). This week we made ornaments! It took me a bit to think up a way for a 2 1/2 year old to make her own ornaments, but this is what I came up with, and she did do quite a bit of the work all by herself!

Paper Ornaments

Materials:

Green construction paper
Red washable paint
1-2 Q-tips
Scissors
Cotton balls
Stapler 
Twine or other string

First, get a smock on that kid if you want less mess to clean up. Give them the paper, paint, and a Q-tip and instruct them to make little red dots on the paper- these dots will represent ornaments on a tree, or berries on a wreath. (Lily insisted I make one, too. You can see the side-by-side of our dot work in the top right corner of image below). Allow paint to dry, then using something to create the desired shape, such as a stencil (I used a wooden shape), trace a Christmas tree or wreath onto the polka-dotted paper. Or, if you have some artistic talent, draw it free hand- the shapes just have to match up exactly so that they can be stapled together.

Next, place a couple of pieces of cotton between 2 of the cut-out shapes, then staple closed, as if you are making a little paper pillow. Staple a looped piece of string to the top so it can be hung from a tree branch. Add glitter glue, sequins, or other adornments if desired.

Lily added some glitter glue drops, and she really had fun with that- so much so, that she decided to decorate the packaging from said glitter glue.

Decorating her ornament

Decorating her piece of trash

I made one shaped like a wreath, but as stuffing I thought it would be clever and less wasteful to use crumpled up scrap paper, and it turned out just as well. So feel free to stuff your ornaments using either method. 

This is a fun and easy project for kids 2 years or older. Have fun!     

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