Mommy's Bundle

Early Motherhood: Love the Joy. Love the Chaos.

  • Start Here
  • About
  • Resources
  • Blog
  • Shop
    • Postpartum Recovery Course
    • Breastfeeding Anthology
    • Baby’s First Christmas
    • Holiday Shopping Guide
  • Pregnancy
  • Postpartum
  • Breastfeeding
  • Baby
  • Toddler
  • Holidays
    • New Years
    • Valentines
    • St. Patrick’s
    • Easter
    • Mother’s Day
    • Father’s Day
    • 4th of July
    • Halloween
    • Thanksgiving
    • Christmas

Fingerprint Christmas Tree & Salt Dough Ornament

6495shares

Salt dough ornaments are such a cute and festive way to get the house in gear for Christmas. They add a special personal touch to your brightly-lit Christmas tree.

But let’s face reality: getting the kids involved in the decorating process, especially when it involves flour and kitchen utensils, isn’t always as easy as it looks. In fact, it can be stress-inducing once you picture the aftermath in the kitchen!

So how do you create a beautiful keepsake with little ones, and make the process less stressful for everyone involved?

A little prep work…and an easy trick I use to avoid designing with knives (see list below!).

Fingerprint Christmas Tree: An easy DIY kid's craft to make this holiday!

This post may contain affiliate links.

This weekend I decided to give the salt dough ornament-making process another try, after a few bad experiences.

Check out what exactly we did to create a Christmas tree ornament using fingerprints as the Christmas lights.

Fingerprint Christmas Tree Ornament

To get started, I made sure to gather all the necessary ingredients:

  • 1 cup of flour
  • 1/2 cup salt
  • 1/4 cup water
  • Christmas tree cookie cutter
  • Rolling pin
  • Sharp knife (to cut edges)
  • Parchment Paper (for easy baking)
  • Acrylic Paints
  • Paintbrushes

There are a few variations of the salt dough recipe online – most call for equal parts flour and salt but I found that I was adding more flour to the dough and more water, so adjust accordingly. You will want to start with fewer ingredients and make adjustments as you go to get the ideal mixture.

Once you combine the flour, salt, and water you will need to knead the dough. You can mold it into a ball, squeeze together and apart several times and then flatten out. A rolling pin helps make this A LOT easier.

salt dough mix

You can get the kids involved here to provide them with fun, messy sensory play, but keep in mind you will NEED to have lots of paper towels, wipes and patience handy :).

roll salt dough

The thickness of the dough depends on what exactly you like. Aiming for something that isn’t too thick (so you can actually hang it on the tree) and something that isn’t too thin (so you can add fingerprints/handprint) is ideal.

This post was very helpful in learning to find the best temperature for baking as well.

cookie cutter

Use the cookie cutter to create the tree shape, and have your kid press down firmly with fingertips (or thumb) to create the Christmas lights. Our cutter was small so we only had room for about 4 fingerprints.

Place on parchment paper and set in the oven for 2-3 hours at 200 F.

parchment paper

Finally, the next step is to put those quality paints to use and decorate! You may want to wait to paint the next day when you have some alone time – to make the experience more fun overall :). You can then add a ribbon or string to hang on the tree.

I made a couple for each kid and printed the year on the back. We added a DIY star on one of the trees for even more fun.

christmas tree with star

Use the kid's fingerprints to create lights on these adorable Christmas tree ornaments made from salt dough! Makes a beautiful kids craft and keepsake for years to come.I LOVE the way the Christmas ornament turned out and was so easy to do once I had the prep work done and was able to manage expectations. The cookie-cutter made it a no-fuss easy way to shape my ornament and getting fingerprints from the kids was much easier than having them try to keep their hand steady for even a minute.

Salt Dough Christmas Tree Ornament: A DIY ornament kid's can help make using their fingerprints to create Christmas lights.

If you loved this, please PIN it so others can try it too!!

Use the kid's fingerprints to create lights on these adorable Christmas tree ornaments made from salt dough! Makes a beautiful kids craft and keepsake for years to come.

If you enjoyed this Christmas craft, I hope you will check out a few others we made with the kids!

Adorable Christmas ornaments for baby and toddlers! These 20 keepsakes will make baby's first Christmas special.

snowflake-ornament

Santa Christmas Craft

Angel Christmas Craft

Related Posts

  • 12 Salt Dough Christmas Ornaments for Kids12 Salt Dough Christmas Ornaments for Kids
  • Angel Christmas Craft for KidsAngel Christmas Craft for Kids
  • 20 Homemade Ornaments for Baby’s First Christmas20 Homemade Ornaments for Baby’s First Christmas
  • Candy Cane Wreath: A DIY Christmas CraftCandy Cane Wreath: A DIY Christmas Craft
Ana @ Mommy's Bundle

Ana, a mom to three rambunctious little boys, has supported hundreds of thousands of women throughout their pregnancy and motherhood journey since 2012 as a blogger and maternal health advocate at MommysBundle.com.

Filed Under: Activities, Christmas, Holidays, Toddler | 13 Comments

Comments

  1. Caroline says

    November 23, 2015 at 3:26 pm

    These are so cute!!!
    Caroline recently posted…8 Excuses Why People Don’t Journal (And Why Those Reasons Suck)My Profile

    Reply
  2. Lauren says

    November 23, 2015 at 6:10 pm

    This looks great! I love how they turned out..
    Lauren recently posted…DIY Watercolor MugMy Profile

    Reply
  3. Theresa @DearCreatives says

    November 23, 2015 at 6:20 pm

    Super cute. I remember doing this when my kids were little. I need to remember to do with my little grandkids when they get a bit older. Pinned for later.
    Theresa @DearCreatives recently posted…Roundup: Inspiration Spotlight Linkup Party 171My Profile

    Reply
    • Ana says

      November 23, 2015 at 10:29 pm

      Thanks so much Theresa!

      Reply
  4. Elizabeth Edgar says

    November 23, 2015 at 10:08 pm

    Love the Christmas tree ornaments! I agree it is unpredictable how crafts will go with young kids. I have a toddler myself, so I go in every craft activity with lower than low expectations! 😉

    I make several salt dough stuff like marbled salt dough ball garland posted in my blog! I also made a salt dough Christmas tree with family fingerprints (Daddy, Mommy & Baby) on it that I will post up soon.
    Elizabeth Edgar recently posted…DIY: Marbled Salt Dough Ball GarlandMy Profile

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. 12 Salt Dough Christmas Ornaments for Kids - Mommy's Bundle says:
    December 2, 2015 at 11:29 pm

    […] that in mind, I was inspired to make some salt dough ornaments myself this year with the kids. It was messy fun and also allowed me to get a little keepsake […]

    Reply
  2. 25 Easy & Fun Christmas Crafts for Kids - Raising Whasians says:
    December 8, 2015 at 2:03 pm

    […] Christmas Tree Salt Dough Ornament – Mommy’s Bundle […]

    Reply
  3. Best Keepsake Christmas Ornaments - Teach Me Mommy says:
    November 4, 2016 at 5:01 am

    […] Family Fingerprint Ornaments Christmas Tree […]

    Reply
  4. Kids Play Box says:
    November 16, 2016 at 3:56 pm

    […] Such a cute finger print Christmas Lights keepsake from Messy Little Monster. Mommy’s Bundle also a cute Christmas Lights ornament. […]

    Reply
  5. Fun Christmas Lights Activities for Kids | Kids Play Box says:
    November 16, 2016 at 3:59 pm

    […] Such a cute finger print Christmas Lights keepsake from Messy Little Monster. Mommy’s Bundle also a cute Christmas Lights ornament. […]

    Reply
  6. Over 50 Christmas Gifts Kids Can Make - Little Sprouts Learning says:
    November 23, 2016 at 7:24 am

    […] Salt Dough ornaments […]

    Reply
  7. 30 simple Christmas ornaments kids can make - Gift of Curiosity says:
    November 28, 2016 at 9:18 am

    […] Christmas tree salt dough ornament from Mommy’s Bundle […]

    Reply
  8. A Christmas Tradition of Writing Letters to Santa - Mommy's Bundle says:
    November 16, 2017 at 11:20 am

    […] Fingerprint Christmas Tree Ornament […]

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

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

CommentLuv badgeShow more posts

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
FREE Postpartum Planner

Additional Resources

  • Facebook
  • Google+
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Pregnancy
  • Baby
  • Toddler
  • Motherhood

Copyright © 2023 Mommy's Bundle • Privacy Policy • Website Design By Jumping Jax Designs

6495shares