Fun Christmas Cookie Ornament Crafts for Young Children

There are few things cuter than a kid at Christmas. And when you have four of them, you've got to find a way to channel all of that excitement. My kids love crafts, and each year, they look forward to making Christmas ornament crafts. Young children love to feel like they are a part of the Holiday, and they love showing friends and family their ornaments on the tree. I have young children, so cookie ornaments make a great, easy craft. And if you do them on Christmas Eve, they can double as a Santa snack. Here is a guide to make this ornament craft fun and easy for the little ones.

What you'll need:

Cookie dough (sugar cookies work the best)

Tube icing in red, green and white

Christmas colored sprinkles, red hots, m&m's, etc.

toothpicks

Red, white or green ribbon.

Circle cookie cutters, or other Christmas shapes

Step 1: Make the Cookies

You can use ready made cookie dough that you just have to roll. But if you want to make it from scratch, here's a recipe:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F

Then Mix the following ingredients in a small bowl and set it aside:

2 ¾ cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking soda

½ tsp baking powder

Then, in a large bowl, gently mix until smooth:

1 cup butter (softened)

1 ½ cups white sugar

Then beat in:

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla extract

Then gradually blend the small bowl of flour, baking soda and baking powder.

Dust a flat surface and rolling pin with flour, and roll the dough flat.

Step 2: Punch out the Shapes

Circles and Christmas trees are pretty popular at my house, and the older ones like to make their own shapes with the trimmings.

Once the shapes are punched (or crudely fashioned), make holes in the tops of the cookies.

Make them far enough from the edge or they'll crumble. And make sure they're wide enough or they will close while they're baking.

Step 3: Pop Them in the Oven

Once your shapes are made, they will need to bake for 8-10 minutes or until they begin to turn brown. I have four kids and lots of distractions, so I like to keep a few tubes of ready-made sugar cookie dough around during the holidays just in case I accidentally let a batch get a little too crispy.

You'll want to let the cookies rest on the cookie sheet for at least two minutes before placing them on a wire rack to cool.

Step 4: Time for the Fun

There are no directions for decorating, although you'll want to make sure that you have enough icing tubes for everyone to have use of at least one or there will be pouting. Let the kiddies have fun and come up with their own icing designs.

If you have red hots or large sprinkles show the kids how to stick individual candies on their ornament with dots of icing.

My kids always like to have an ornament with their initial on it. Smiley faces are a big hit too. Really, the sky is the limit and part of the fun is watching what the kids come up with.

Step 5: Tying the Ribbon

Cut the ribbon into six inch pieces and string it through the hole in each cookie.

Then double knot your loop.