Do you enjoy making Christmas tree ornaments with your kiddos as much as I do? Every year since my son, Onetime, was born – we have made a special ornament together to add to our tree and to give to our family and close friends.
This year – our handmade ornament was inspired by one of my favourite Christmas books, Just Right for Christmas, and it turned out just beautifully!
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The Inspiration for Our Ornament…
If you’ve visited my blog before – you know that I’m addicted to kids’ picture books and love to plan activities and art around books that I share with my son.
When I first found “Just Right for Christmas“
by Birdie Black & Rosalind Beardshaw last year, I immediately fell in love with it – and knew Onetime would love it too (and he does)!
It has adorably painted illustrations with fun people and animal characters. Its text and story repeats in a pleasant, sing song way that is easy for kids to start to chime in on, AND most importantly – it’s message is just right!
Story Synopsis:
The idea is that all the people and animals in the story are trying to find the perfect gift for their loved ones.
A large piece of bright red and “Chrismassy” cloth is used first by a King to make a special cloak for his daughter, then the leftover scraps are found and used by a maid to make a handmade gift for her child.
The scraps of fabric get passed on and the cloth pieces gets smaller and smaller until eventually a tiny mouse mother finds the very last scrap and uses it to make a scarf for her little Billy.
Message: The story inspires the reader to truly think about giving from the heart – and the handmade gifts all show how the most important part of a gift is that it is given with LOVE!
I highly recommend this book for kids aged 2 to 8. It even made my top 15 Christmas Books that will Bring Your Family Closer list.
A Just Right for Christmas Ornament
Whether you read the book or not, this adorable ornament is fun and easy to make, takes little prep, and ends up looking beautiful!
If you read the book and make the ornament – it can serve as a reminder of the important lessons in this beautiful Christmas story, while also allowing kids the opportunity to make something homemade for someone they love!
Ornament Materials:
- StyroFoam Craft Balls – 2″, 2 1/2″ or 3″
- White Glue or Mod Podge
- A variety of Christmas coloured Fabric Scraps – it’s nice to have a mix of solids and patterns of red and greens
- Material Scissors
- A BBQ skewer or long thin stick
- Twine or coloured string
- Coloured Wooden Beads
or 
– it’s nice to have a mix of solids and patterns of red and greens
How to Make the Ornament
Step 1: Get Fabric Ready
Cut up a whole bunch of approximately 1″ x 1″ squares of “Christmassy” fabric! (I did most of the cutting using sewing shears. Older children can do this part themselves.)
Step 2: Add the Twine
Using the skewer, poke a hole through the middle of the foam ball and push a piece of twine all the way through. Tie a knot at each end of the ball to hold the twine in place.
Step 3: Glue on the Materials
Cover the ball with glue and stick on the fabric squares so that they overlap and the foam ball is completely covered. (We used a wide paintbrush to apply the glue – and liberally “painted” over top of the fabric to make sure the pieces stuck down flat.) Let the fabric covered ball dry.
Step 4: Add the Beads
Add beads as desired. Tie one end of the twine in to a loop for hanging.
Today’s post is a part of the gigantic 10 Days of a Kid-Made Christmas Blog Hop!
Check out the other awesome bloggers who posted today:
A Little Pinch of Perfect | Homemade Cinnamon Christmas Ornaments
What Do We Do All Day?| Tomten Garland
The Life of Jennifer Dawn | Wood Slice Ornament
Adventures of Adam | Norman The Slug Who Saved Christmas Ornament
Mama Smiles | Polymer Clay Snowman Ornaments
Buggy and Buddy | Button Star Christmas Ornament
Kitchen Floor Crafts | Mitten Ornaments
Montessori Nature | Christmas Star Kid-Made Ornament
Happy Brown House | Washi Tape Mason Jar Lid Ornament
Click on the picture below to find other fun Christmas ornaments inspired by kids’ books.
Will you give this a try? Do you have any questions? Let me know in the comments below. Your comments make my day!
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Wishing you a Just Right Christmas!
These are so lovely, my daughter would love to craft with fabric!
And easy to make. We had almost all the materials at home already. Thanks for dropping by Katie! Loved your gingerbread ornaments!
What a wonderful activity to link to the story. Love that you get to use up scraps of fabric too.
For sure Adventures of Adam – although I have to admit, we also picked up some new fun Christmas fabrics too! I’ve got a few projects in mind for the fabric though – this project uses such a little amount. Thanks for dropping by!
What a fun ornament – love how the materials are so simple & the pretty result!!
I agree Melissa – I was surprised how well they turned out! LOL! I was worried the edges might fray – but the glue keeps them down nicely. Thanks for dropping by!
What a great book inspired ornament. It would be fun to make ornaments using fabric from the kid’s outgrown clothes, too.
That’s such a cool idea Shelah! Ooohh….you’ve just inspired me to try that with another project I had in mind that uses fabric… I love brainstorming ideas with others! Thanks for dropping by!
I have never heard of this book! This is a must for Christmas story advent! Your beautiful ornament looks like a perfect gift!
It’s fairly new Anastasia – I think it just came out last year. It’s going to be a classic though!
I love the sound of this book, it will definitely need to be added to our family holiday book collection. And I love how this project can also use up fabric scraps you might already have on hand.
Yep – we pretty much had all the materials we needed at home already for this one Kate. Thanks for dropping by!
That book sounds lovely, and I love your ornament! I definitely need to make some of these with my kids!
Thanks Maryanne – it might be fun to try this with pinking shears too that make the edge of the fabric zigzag. Thanks for dropping by!
Fabric is such a great idea to cover a Christmas Ball – we love this book too!
Yes – it laid down nicely with lots of glue Julie – and there are so many nice patterns out there! Thanks for dropping by!