Monday, December 10, 2007

Fun Monday #7

This week's Fun Monday is being hosted by kaytabug. This is the assignment she has given us:



In the spirit of the season I would like to see your favorite Christmas tree ornament. Not to be confused with the WHOLE tree. I want you to zoom in and show me one or a few(you know I can't choose just one!) of your favorite ornaments. If you don't decorate a tree, show me your menorah or dreidel, Kinara, or Yule Log. I want to see your favorite decoration for this holiday season.



Well, this may be a little tricky since we haven't gotten any of our decorations out of the garage yet. We've had a few unexpected roadblocks lately and all Christmas activities have been put off until this week. So I can't show you my favorite ornaments. But I can tell you about them.


When my kids were younger they made a lot of ornaments for the tree and decorations for the house. My favorites were really simple to make. You simply mixed plain applesauce and ground cinnamon until it was about the consistency of cookie dough. Then you could roll them out and cut them or shape them any way you wanted. My kids sometimes made beads that we strung or cut stars and trees out with cookie cutters. But the ones dearest to my heart are the ones where I shaped the dough in a thick circle and had them imprint their hands in the dough. I wrote their names and dates on the back and poked a hole at the top to string a ribbon through. If you're really organized you could spray them with a fixative. If you're not, you can still enjoy them years later even after they've turned slightly green around the edges.


These ornaments smell fabulous for years. When you open the box the spicy smell of apples and cinnamon wafts out pretty quick. If anyone is interested, here is the recipe. I always bought the food service sizes of the applesauce and cinnamon to make a lot of ornaments. They also made great gifts.


Now...enough yakking. I'm off to find my ornaments.

31 comments:

Molly said...

Thanks for the recipe. Maybe I will make some of these with my granddaughter. I can almost smell the cinnamon now.

Kim said...

Those are so cool. We've made those, too. I think the homemade ones are very special. My kids are beginning to be embarrassed by them, just a little. I don't care, they're still going on the tree!

willowtree said...

That sounds like a great idea!

Gattina said...

That's a great idea and really special ! It is interesting to read all the different ways of Christmas decorations.

ped crossing said...

SweetE just came home with one from preschool. I was wondering what was in them besides cinnamon. They do smell fabulous.

I love Christmas ornaments. There is no way I could choose a favorite. I get the boys a new one every year that symbolizes something from the past year. They get to open them on Christmas Eve and add them to the tree.

Flowerpot said...

thanks for the recipe - they look great.

laurie said...

wow, what a great idea. i bet they smell great, too.

plus if your tree falls over and they smash on the ground, no problem if the dogs try to eat the shards!

Jen said...

What a great idea! You are so clever, I've never heard of using applesauce and cinnamon. Oh, we made dough ornaments when I was a kid, and then covered them with shellac. But they certainly don't smell like yours do!

Anonymous said...

We have made the cinnamon ornaments too. Just make sure they are hung high enough that dogs can't get to them. I had a doberman that thought they were treats.

Pamela said...

someone else has this recipe and the apple/cinnamon ornaments, too.

I'd not heard of them before. The hand idea is excellent.

Robin said...

We've had some of these in the past (my kids made them as class projects), but if I'm not mistaken, all of ours have broken by now. I DO remember the smell of cinnammon, though, that's such a wonderful cold-weather scent!

Be sure to post your handprint versions when you get 'em out, k?

Robin @ PENSIEVE

ChrisB said...

This is a great idea. I seem to remember salt dough ornaments but these sound much nicer as I love the smell of cinnamon.

Anonymous said...

My son made some of these last year in Kindergarten. They smelled so good....this year, not so much - but they are still hanging. I suspect they will be there for years to come. Good to know about them turning green.

Dreaming What Ifs...

kitten said...

How neat! We had the same idea!

Kaytabug said...

Thanks for sharing the recipe, sounds like fun!

Akelamalu said...

Those sound great!

Beth said...

What a great recipe! Even if I don't have a tree to decorate, they could hang in front of windows to give a nice scent, or just be group like cookies in a basket on the table, with a few other inedible items so people would get the hint they're not for eating. I'm sure the aroma is heavenly!

A Slice of My Life said...

Oh a handprint...how clever of you. I think it would take an awful lot of cinnamon to do a teen's hands...

Susan at A Slice of Life

Sandy said...

What fun! I am not real good at rolling any kind of dough, but I may give these a try!

Madam Crunchypants said...

What a fantastic idea - I've never heard of this before. I may just need to do my entire tree in these next year - Punkin's already got an unnatural affinity for the glass ornaments :P

Carrie @carrieloves said...

Thanks for the recipe, those are very sweet.

Unknown said...

Kid made ornaments are something to treasure. I can't wait until mine starts making them for me.

Jo Beaufoix said...

RC they are fab. I may have to have a go at making them. Especially as they have the hand prints on them. I bet the kids are dead chuffed that you kept them.

Kimberly Vanderhorst said...

Oh my...I so need to make those!

Anonymous said...

That must be so sentimental. I must get Amy to make something. I usually buy her a little tree ornament each year to keep forever.

Crystal xx

Sauntering Soul said...

I've never heard of these before but I think they're awesome!

Bren said...

Thanks for the recipe! I think I'll make those with my little monkeys for them to give to the relatives.

Alix said...

That is such a lovely idea, I'll have to remember it for when I have kids!

Alison said...

Thanks for the welcome!! I love your idea, they sound wonderful...I am going to have to try it!!

Robinella said...

We always made these too. They last forever!! Although, mine never turned green...

Tiggerlane said...

How neat - except my dog would eat these off the tree. I just can't trust him...

I'll save the recipe away for a dogless time of life!