Austin, TX

I don’t think there is anything nicer than homemade gifts. A homemade gift says that a person has spent more than money on you, they’ve spent time and we all know how precious time can be these days.

It’s easy these days to either shove money in your child’s hands and let them buy gifts for family members but it’s a lot more rewarding to help them make something. Here is one suggestion that will bring joy for years to come. Make a set of these fragrant ornaments and give them to Grandma’s and Auntie’s who will be sure to treasure them. Of course you don’t need a child to make these ornaments, they also make lovely hostess gifts and they look great tied to the front of your wrapped packages!

Cinnamon Christmas Ornaments (NOT edible!!)

Ingredients

1 cup ground cinnamon
1/4 cup applesauce
1/2 cup craft glue
1 drinking straw

Directions

In a medium bowl, mix together 1 cup ground cinnamon and 1/4 cup applesauce using a rubber spatula.

Stir in 1/2 cup craft glue. Stir the dough until consistency is smooth and dry. Let stand 1 hour. Applesauce gives the dough pliability, glue makes it firm, and cinnamon imparts a lovely fragrance and a gingerbread color.

Turn out one-quarter of dough onto a cool, flat surface; flatten with your hands.

Flatten with a rolling pin to 1/4 inch thick. If dough becomes too dry, spritz with water. If it sticks to rolling pin or work surface, sprinkle with additional cinnamon.

Cut shapes out with cookie cutters, templates or a butter knife.

With a straw, poke a hole in dough (for hanging). Air-dry ornaments on a wire rack lined with paper towels for 24 hours, turning them over every 6 hours or so to keep them flat. Alternatively, preheat oven to 200 degrees. Transfer ornaments to a baking sheet; bake, flipping once, until dry, about 2 hours. Once the dough has dried completely, you can decorate the finest embellishment to the coarsest, adding glitter, sequins, beads or whatever else you like. Or you can leave them naked and simply thread some red or green ribbon through the holes.

Of course, if you’re the Martha Stewart type you can make beautiful elaborate birds.