• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Bainbridge Island
  • DIY & Crafts
  • Food
  • Life
  • The Wedding Cookbook Project
  • Writing
  • Nav Widget Area

A Mom's Year

Creating a comfortable life one moment at a time

December 15, 2011

Kids’ Craft: Smelly Christmas Ornaments

When we were decorating the tree this weekend, I found a long-forgotten ornament hidden under some tissue paper. It’s so simple—just a tree cut out of sandpaper with red yarn looped through—but it made me smile because it reminded me of my earliest days as a mother. I can picture Andrew’s blond head bent over his work as his chubby hands attempted to cut the tree shape out of sandpaper, his blue eyes (they’re green now) looking at me quizzically as he tried to figure out why this paper was so scratchy. And then running back to his Thomas the Tank Engine trains because he was far too busy to sit for long making crafts with his mother.

Each of our kids has a small bin to store their ornaments, so I’ll tuck Andrew’s little tree in with his others: Baby’s First Christmas, a Green Bay Packer Snowman, a drum kit, and all the homemade treasures he’s been given over the years. I hope every Christmas he’ll feel what Cynthia Rylant expresses so beautifully in one of our favorite books, Christmas in the Country: “Each ornament reminded me of my whole life.”

These smelly Christmas ornaments are great for the preschool crowd. You might have to help with the cutting, but they can have fun rubbing the cinnamon stick on the sandpaper.

All you need is

  • sandpaper
  • Christmas-y cookie cutters (or your own designs, if you’re good at drawing)
  • yarn
  • a hole punch
  • a cinnamon stick

Trace the cookie cutter shapes onto the sandpaper and cut them out. Punch a hole in the top, then let your little helper rub the cinnamon stick all over the ornament. Loop some yarn through the hole, tie, and hang the ornaments on your tree.

Share this:

  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)

Filed Under: Decorating, Gifts, Holidays, Kid Activities Shannon 2 Comments

Reader Interactions

Gift Idea: The Nutcracker Suite Puppet Theater
Happy Weekend

Comments

  1. Stephanie says

    December 16, 2011 at 12:39 am

    That’s sounds lovely. I’ll use some nutmeg too – they sell them whole in France in little jars with a tiny metal grater so you can produce your own ground version.

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Energetic Mince-Pie Making, A Missing Baby and Book Bags | Blog in France says:
    December 19, 2011 at 12:34 pm

    […] had helped me the other day. I came across a scented Christmas tree decoration craft on Shannon’s lovely blog, A Mom’s Year. I could only find some grey sandpaper but it was […]

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

Welcome

Hello! My name is Shannon Taylor. I'm a long-time writer and editor from Minnesota surprised to find myself on an island in the Pacific Northwest. I'm sharing this adventure with my husband, four kids, and two dogs. I “published” my first newsletter when I was nine, and I’ve loved sharing ideas, stories, and information ever since. I hope you find something here to inspire you and help you create a comfortable, cozy life.
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Email

Instagram

Congratulations, Andrew, on these honors for “Fa Congratulations, Andrew, on these honors for “Fake”! So happy for you and your team.

Featured Posts

  • How to Host a Chinese New Year Party
  • Make: Double Happiness Symbol for Chinese New Year
  • Chinese New Year / Fortune Cookies
  • Chinese New Year Cookies
  • Make: Snowflake Garland
  • Kids’ Craft: Smelly Christmas Ornaments
  • Breathing Room
  • The Boredom Is Not Allowed List
  • The Only Parenting Advice We Need
  • Country of the Week: Japan / Roasted Seaweed and Mochi

Fiction

Fiction

Comforting as a big mug of cocoa in front of a warm fire, this cozy family novel is about the connections we make and the traditions that keep us together.

Archives

© 2021 Happy Crow Enterprises, LLC
About    Privacy Policy    Copyright
Pretty Happy WordPress Theme · By: Pretty Darn Cute Design