Christmas star ornaments for kids

Get step-by-step instructions for helping your kids make these easy and adorable Christmas tree ornaments.

By Angela McKendree

Gold, silver, or yellow poster board
Various types of small pasta
Tacky glue
Photo
Hole punch
Yarn
Star pattern
Child-safe scissors
Pencil
Acrylic spray
Preparation:

1) Search craft magazines or the internet for a cute yet simple star pattern.

2) Make enough copies of the pattern so that every child participating in the experiment gets one.

3) Cut up the poster board into small squares for each child participating in the project. Be sure that the square is still slightly bigger than the star pattern

4) Have the child choose their favorite school photo, or some other small picture to be featured in the ornament.

Instructions:

1) Distribute these materials to each child: scissors, glue, pasta, poster board piece, star pattern and pencil.

2) Have the child start by tracing the star pattern onto the piece of poster board. When they are finished tracing, have them cut it out. Very young children may need adult assistance when it comes time to cut out the star shape. Some may even need help tracing.

3) When the star is cut out they are ready to start decorating it. They can glue the pasta around the edges of the poster board star. The middle of the star needs to be reserved for the child’s photo, so the amount of pasta they have room to glue on to the star depends on the size of the photo.

4) When the glue is dried and the pasta is firmly attached to the star, spray the star with acrylic spray. This will keep the pasta fresh and it will keep hungry little pests away from your child’s ornament. Allow the first coat to dry, spray on the second coat and allow it to dry as well before continuing.

5) When the spray has dried, you may move on to this next step. Have the child get out their own photo and center the photo on the star frame. When the have found a good spot for it, have them put a couple of dabs of glue on the poster board and then set the picture down on top of the glue. Allow a few minutes for the glue to dry before moving on.

6) Now, each child probably does not have their own hole punch so an adult can pass it around or punch the hole themselves. Either way, be sure that the hole is punched near the top of the star.

7) When each child’s hole is punched, they can string the yarn through the hole and tie it in a secure bow or knot. If there is excess yarn, the child can cut if off. Now the ornament is ready to be tied to the tree! The star ornament will make a great addition to any family Christmas tree.

To make this ornament extra Christmas-y, try to find pasta that has been made into Christmas shapes. During the holiday season, many stores carry mini Christmas tree, star, and stocking shaped pastas, to name a few. Of course, if this is not available to you, any pasta will do.

This project can be made with the acrylic spray because dried pasta keeps for quite awhile. If unwanted critters are not a problem in your household, you are welcome to skip that step.