Thursday, January 5, 2012

Homemade Christmas Ornaments

One of our family traditions is that each child gets a new ornament for Christmas.  My Mom did this for us growing up and I loved it.  I've been doing this since I first had Christopher.  I would spend time searching for just the right ornament.  Something that reflected an accomplishment or something about their character.  It was fun.  Some years though it was also really hard when I couldn't find just the right ones.  Last year was one of those years.  Nothing seemed right.  So I decided to make ornaments for my children and loved how they turned out.  I like that they are personal and special.

So this year, I did the same thing - made ornaments for my children.

I started with a wooden block.  I found pictures or clipart that represented something special about each child.  I also included a picture of them from this year.  The top of the block has the year and the bottom is a note from me including why each picture was chosen.  I covered the pictures with Mod Podge.  When they were finished I twisted a screw with a circle on the end (not sure what those are called) in order to hang them from the tree.

I hope these will be treasured for years to come.  I know I enjoy making them.  Its a gift of love from me to my children.

 I included a group photo of all the children from our summer trip.  I also included things like baptisms, missions trip, play performances, hobbies and more.
Just wanted to share in case others were interested in making something similar.

Blessings
Leslie