 | Christmas is the time for spending time with your family and friends. Here are three great ideas to get everyone in the spirit of Christmas. Experiment with each to make them your own.
Homemade Christmas Cutout Decorations
Take 2 parts salt, 2 parts flour, and 1 part water. Mix well into a stiff dough. Roll this out to ¼ inch thick. Use your favorite cookie cutters to cut into fun shapes or if your feeling talented, use a sharp knife to cut into desired shapes. You can also add food coloring to the dough before you cut into shapes, if you desire.
Make sure you poke a hole through the top of the shape, so that you may easily hang when it is done drying.
These cutouts should dry on an oven rack for approximately a week, however, if your shapes are thicker, you can dry in a 100 degree oven for approximately 2 to 3 hours.
Once the shapes are dry, you can paint them, let them dry and get them ready to hang. You can use thread, yarn, or ribbon to hang.
Birch Log Centerpiece
Find or buy a piece of birch log approximately one to one-and-a-half feet long. Cut in half lengthwise, so one end is round and the other flat. Lay flat side down and measure the distance. Mark two spots, with equal distance between them and the ends of the log. Drill or cut a hole approximately 1 inch deep, and approximately ¾ inch wide, big enough for a candle to put into. When you are done, place your candles in the holes. I usually put hot candle wax into the hole first to help seal the candles in place. Once your candles are steady, go outside and collect some fir or pine branches. Place these decoratively around the bottom of the candles. You can also decorate with other items, such as cinnamon sticks, pine cones, or garland. Just be careful the items are not placed too close to the candles if you will be lighting the candles.
Painted Christmas Balls
At any store that sells Christmas decorations, you should be able to buy clear, glass balls in many sizes. Once you have the amount that you need, make sure you buy some paints in your desired colors.
Carefully take the tops off the glass balls. Drop a few drops of your choice of paint inside the ball, being careful not to get too much. Turn the glass balls around, allowing the paint to swirl around inside. Put in a few colors at a time to get a variety of shades. Experiment with different colors to get unique colorings.
When you have the desired look, tip the ball upside down, resting it on its neck. Allow to dry before you place the tops back on.
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