Fun with Clay Christmas Ornaments

Clay Christmas ornaments are the perfect way to commemorate each Christmas. By creating and decorating custom clay ornaments together, you strengthen the bond of your family and design an individualized ornament that has more meaning than generic, store bought ornaments.

Clay Christmas ornaments are generally handmade and decorated. They can be used to decorate Christmas trees, banisters, doors and walls. They offer families an affordable method of creating personalized ornaments that have meaning throughout the years. The creation of the ornaments can become an annual tradition, and is a great way to entertain restless children. Christmas functions can be more interactive if you set up a table with supplies and allow attendees to create and/or decorate their own ornaments.

Making Clay

Before you start to create your ornaments, decide whether you want to make your own clay or buy already made clay. Store bought clay is ready for use immediately, whereas homemade clay must be cooked. Homemade clay is easy to make and creating it can be fun. The recipe for homemade clay is:

Combine the following in a saucepan:

1 cup flour

1 cup water

1/2 cup salt

1 tsp. vegetable oil

1/2 tsp. cream of tartar

Food coloring, optional

Cook over medium heat until sticky. Allow to cool and then start shaping.

Shaping and Decorating

Clay Christmas ornaments allow you to design ornaments to your individual taste. Your custom made ornaments will reflect your design sensibility and can help you to create a Christmas tree decorated exactly to your specifications. Because they can be personalized, you can also use them to commemorate certain events or milestones in your family's life. You can also mold the ornaments to resemble family members, friends and pets.

Clay ornaments can be shaped using your hands, sculpting tools or cookie cutters. They can be decorated with almost any material imaginable! You can paint them, cover them in glue and attach glitter, sequins, buttons, magazine cut outs, crayon shavings and more.

Time Frame

When making your own clay, it could take a few hours to create your ornaments. Making the clay takes less than an hour and waiting for it to cool enough to be handled safely can take an hour or more. Once your clay is cool, it can take as much or as little time as you like to create your ornaments. The more detailed your design, the more time it will take. Once your ornaments are created you will need to allow them at least 24 hours to harden.