DIY Christmas Ornaments for Toddlers

Combine some jingle bells, small sparkly items, and clear plastic globe ornaments from Dollar Tree, and you have DIY Christmas ornaments for toddlers to make. Toddlers love playing with small objects and putting things into other things. This toddler craft project combines hand-eye coordination, sorting, holiday art, and gift-giving.

I first sorted out several sparkly and Christmas-like items into a muffin tin. One at a time, I put out an empty globe and we talked about who would get this ornament as a Christmas gift. We used jingle bells, pom-poms, and puffy stars to fill the globes. He individually picked out what to add to the ornaments based on who would receive them. The uniqueness of each ornament impressed me.

This craft project kept my one-year-old boy busy for about half an hour. Plus, he made beautiful ornaments to give as gifts to the grandparents.

I like to add the year to the DIY Christmas ornaments he makes. I cut out the year for each ornament from some glittery paper scraps. Once he decided the globes were filled enough, we added the year and hot-glued the top back onto the ornaments.

Toddler-Made DIY Christmas Ornament

Materials

• clear plastic globe ornaments
• odds and end for filling
• muffin tin
• hot glue/glue gun

Directions

1. Fill a muffin tin with the various filling materials.
2. Remove the top from the ornament and place the globe in the muffin tin.
3. Let your toddler start filling the ornament.
4. Add a year to the globe.
5. Hot glue the top onto the ornament.

Here are some ideas for the ornament filling:

All of these items can be found at your local Dollar Tree, your stash, or outside.

• jingle bells
• tinsel
• pom-poms
• ribbon
• beads
• buttons
• gemstones
• pine sprigs
• leaves
• sticks
• tissue paper
• fake snow
• fabric scraps
• seeds
• beans
• rice
• pasta
• paint

Of course, the grandparents loved getting a handmade ornament from their grandson as a keepsake. And I loved being able to get my toddler involved in a homemade Christmas craft.

These DIY Christmas ornaments will look great hanging on your tree and are perfect for giving as gifts to family members and teachers. I look forward to continuing the tradition of having my son make ornaments every year.

How do you get your kids involved in the holiday festivities?