Snow Day - dough ornaments

Last week the kids had a Snow Day off from school. It got me to thinking -- what do kids in non-snowy climates wish for in order to get an extra day off from school?? Do they even get surprise days off from school?

Having three HEALTHY (read: active and loud and competitive) children, I never wish for a day off from school! LOL! We all need the structure and routine that school provides. BUT, this past week I wished for a Snow Day! I imagined in my head all the FUN we could have!

And, we did.

The girls and I made dough (the recipe is 2 cups flour, 1 cup salt, 1 cup water, 1 teaspoon oil - we doubled that recipe so we would have PLENTY) and fashioned it into ornaments. The girls LOVE using the rolling pin. And, they really enjoy all the cookie cutters that we use to make the shapes of the ornaments. We made this batch into shapes of two kinds of Christmas trees, a Santa boot, stocking, bell, bear, 3 kinds of stars (including a Star of David), and I cut around each of their hands - which are probably my favorite ornaments!

After the cutting, you MUST remember to make a hole for hanging the ornament. You have to do this before baking them hard as ROCKS. LOL! Trust me. I know.

Bake them on cookie sheets in a low heat oven (280 is what I use, I think) for about 3 hours. Or, until they are hard as rocks. They are still breakable, so don't drop them! Trust me. I know.

After they are completely cooled, paint them, use glitter glue, attach lace and beads and sequins, whatever strikes your fancy! After all that dries, give them two coats of clear acrylic sealing spray (out in the garage, or other ventilated area), thread ribbon through the hole after the sealant is dry, and WHA LA! You have made baking ingredients into lovely items!

Our tree has dough ornaments from each of the Christmases since 2004. That's a lot of dough ornaments! Plus, we give a lot of them away each year. This is one of my favorite holiday traditions. It is economical, fun, creative, innovative, and interactive! Plus, you get a lovely piece of art! What could be better??

X-Box???

Nah.

RipStick???

Nah.

Blue Ray???

Nah.

Call my kids deprived, but they don't even know what those things ARE! LOL! (Did I spell each of them correctly?)

I came to Motherhood at a late age, and via a long and bumpy road. I know (KNOW) what treasures my children are. It is my pleasure to spend time with them and create traditions with them.