Delicious Christmas Decorations and Ornaments

Christmas is full of trees, candy canes, stockings, elves and Santa. Perhaps the most memorable experiences come from the decorations you put on your tree and around the house. If you are like our family, we have decorations and ornaments that we made 20 years ago stored away, and they will be passed down through the years to our little ones. Decorating for Christmas can be a fun and memorable experience, especially when you can eat your creations while you make them! Here's some fun and delicious ways you can bond with your family and make yummy Christmas decorations.

Gumdrop wreath: Gumdrops can be found at most grocery stores and closer to your Christmas holiday; you'll find the red and green gumdrops. You'll need a large plastic child's sewing needle, your gumdrops, marshmallows, string, and a marker, any color will do. To make these yummy decorations, thread your plastic sewing needle with your string and knot the string. Thread the needle through a gumdrop and alternate between your gumdrops and marshmallows to your desired length. Tie together your creation and you may even want to put a bow or bells where the knot is so it can't be seen. Use a marker to put little faces or shapes on the marshmallows and hang wherever you wish. You can make various sizes of wreaths!

Popcorn string: This is a classic. You'll need microwave popcorn, dried cranberries, string, needle, and scissors. Pop a bag of microwave popcorn and set it aside for about 8-10 minutes to cool. Gather your cranberries and popcorn and thread your needle. Begin with a piece of popcorn and spear your needle through the kernel, then string on a cranberry. Alternate the two and let the kids eat as they go and make this string as long as you want. It's a great decoration to not only put on your tree but around the house too! Want some more color? Go ahead and string on those leftover gumdrops if there are any left.

Snowmen: This sugary treat is sure to be a hit. Ingredients include white gum drops; you'll need both large and small ones, toothpicks, black and orange jelly beans, black string licorice, and royal icing. Place a large white gumdrop at the bottom and using a toothpick, connect two smaller drops to the larger bottom one. Your royal icing will allow you to put 'buttons' and 'eyes' on your snowmen. Your licorice strings can make small arms and if you halve your orange jelly beans you can make your snowman's nose. Want a hat? Use your black jelly beans, and half those too. We get creative and put our snowmen on a mirror base and use colored blue sugar for 'water'. If you cannot find gumdrops, then marshmallows will do just as well because there are different sizes to create your snowmen with.

Candy filled ornaments: You can find hollow ornaments pretty much anywhere this time of year. Because the kids are involved with these, I prefer plastic ornaments that can be filled with just about anything. The more colorful your candy, the better your ornament is going to look! M&Ms and skittles are colorful candies that are sure to fill your ornaments and little tummies. But don't stop at just filling your ornaments, be creative and get some glass paint at your local craft store and let the kids personalize their ornaments. Then at the end of the season you can empty your bulbs and reuse them for next year!

Gingerbread men: Gingerbread men are so traditional, they are even found in our children's stories. These are easy to make, bake, and decorate! Here is a list of ingredients you will need. Chances are you have these in your home already.

2 3/4 c. flour
1/2 tsp. soda
1 tsp. ginger
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 c. shortening
1/4 c. brown sugar
3/4 c. molasses
1 beaten egg
1 tsp. hot water
1 tsp. vinegar

Combine all of your ingredients, roll the dough out, use cookie cutter to make desired shapes, and bake in the oven at 350 degrees until brown on a greased cookie sheet. We use all kinds of shapes, not just the gingerbread men cookie cutters. We've made houses, traditional circles, stars, trees, and the list goes on. Get some different colors of icing and let the kids create to their hearts content. Use your leftover candy from your ornaments to create buttons and eyes.

So if you're tired of the same old tinsel and traditional glass bulbs to decorate your home, try some of these delicious ideas that will get the whole family involved. Happy decorating!