Salt Dough Christmas Ornaments

The recipe to these salt dough ornaments are linked below! I planned to throw these homemade ornaments away and start fresh with store bought ornaments the next year…

Well, last Thanksgiving was not the most cheerful holiday. My grandpa was very sick in the hospital (alone), Zach and I stayed home because of COVID and me being pregnant, and the pandemic seemed like an isolated, never-ending dark hole. It just felt like everything was dark and everyone was hurting in some way – My heart and pregnant body felt the weight of it all. But I was trying my hardest to soak up the magic of being pregnant with my first child during a holiday season. I had to make my holiday decor bright and cheerful, gosh dang it. I chose to make salt dough ornaments, and decorate with colorful ribbon, candy, and bright lights.

Zach and I decorated the house on Thanksgiving Day and despite how dark and scary everything around me felt, at the end of the day my house seemed to reflect the joy, peace, and brightness I wanted so badly. I imagined the next year having Jack crawling around the floors, trying to eat these ornaments, my grandpa being with my grandma, and the outside world feeling somewhat hopeful again.

Now, we have made it through a very challenging year and I can’t help but smile when I think about those saltdough ornaments. The anxious pregnant version of me making them had no clue of a bigger darkness about to come and how nothing would ever be the same again, but I felt such pride, pure joy, and peace as I hung these ornaments on the tree this year with a smiley Jack Robert beside me.

I sound like my Mom, but… I am never throwing these away! 😉

These salt dough ornaments hold a special place in my heart now, and it sure is a sweet reminder of the true meaning of Christmas. It sure is all a gift.