Homemade Holidays Bonus Project: Gingerbread house ornaments

Christmas gifts from the children are those that come most from the heart.

Granted, perhaps not as much "from the heart" as my husband's cousin's son was a few years ago. Inspired by a diamond commercial, he insisted his father let him buy his mom diamonds because mom was the woman he loved most. It's hard to argue with an eight year old's logic.

For those with a little tighter of a budget - and for those who desperately need an activity for kids this Thanksgiving weekend, consider letting them make homemade presents. Cookie tins or ornaments are two easy solutions that can keep your kids out of trouble and make them feel the holidy spirit.

I found these cute gingerbread cards online at Kaboose.com and decided it might be fun to adapt to homemade ornaments. The "recipe" for the cards state that they are for ages 3 and older, though that may depend on your child's ability. It does require parental help.

Here's what I did:

1. Downloaded the template and cut out the house part only out of cardboard that was included in a bag from a scrapbook store to keep papers from bending.
2. Let my 3 year old go wild! First step: Painted "frosting" with leftover acryclic paint from a long-ago project.
3. Glued on buttons and slide mounts, long-ago acquired and unused for scrapbooking projects.
4. I punched holes and inserted eyelets in the top of each ornament so the holes wouldn't rip.
5. Threaded each ornament.

Total out-of-pocket expenditures: $0. (Not including the eventual replacement of the tablecloth, which suffered a few holes from my Silent Setter.)

The great thing is, the project allowed me to use up scrapbook supplies that I hadn't used in years but was hesitant to just throw out.

A bonus: My 3 year old was happily occupied for an hour and a half! And she's eager to share her creations with everyone she knows.