One Thing Christmas

So - I stared into the storage box where we keep our Christmas ornaments: a motley cache of snow people, red ribbons, wooden snowflakes, silver bells, birds, angels, felted creatures of every hoof and claw, and small bibelots of every color and hue. Not, I thought, and put the box away again.

This year I chose to do something different. I wanted decorations that would express my faith and place my love of God on display for friends and family to see. I wanted to remain with our traditional white lights and the blue and gold theme of our Christmas wreath. After a fruitless online search for "Christian ornaments," I decided to make my own using gingerbread salt dough.

First, the baking. Gingerbread salt dough is super easy to handle. I used two styles of star cookie cutters: one traditional and one country. A straw worked well to cut holes in the dough for hanging later.

                       

Next, the decorating. Puffy paint clumps easily and requires patience and a quick yet steady hand. I made a few errors, but I knew God wouldn't mind.

Lastly, placement on the tree.

Gingerbread Salt Dough Recipe

(makes about 20-22 ornaments)

Important Note: These ornaments are inedible.

1 cup white flour

1/2 cup salt

1/2 cup water

4 Tablespoons cinnamon. Add more or less, depending on how dark you want the ornaments to look.

Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Combine all ingredients together in a medium-size bowl. Mix well. Knead the dough on a lightly floured surface a minute or two to make sure the dough has a smooth consistency. Add a little more flour if the dough feels sticky. 

Lightly coat the dough with flour and roll out to about 1/4 inch thick. The dough won't rise while baking. Cut into shapes and cut a small hole with a drinking straw. Place on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Make sure the side you want to decorate lies face-down. Bake for 2-3 hours or until completely dry. Mine baked for just over 2 hours - ovens vary. Also, after an hour the dough started to bubble a bit so I decreased the heat to 225 degrees. However, I liked the bubbling effect because it gave the ornaments an interesting textured surface.

Allow ornaments to dry completely before decorating. I used white puffy paint from a local craft store. Puffy paint requires ample time for drying too. To finish, I gently applied brush-on glitter onto the stars' points for some sparkle. I hung the ornaments using green metal hangers to blend in with the tree's green needles. Ribbon or twine could add color as well.