Christmas Salt Dough Ornament Recipe & Ideas

Christmas salt dough ornaments are easy to make and look great hanging on the Christmas tree. Using our easy salt dough ornament recipe you can mix up a batch of salt dough in minutes and create personalized Christmas ornaments to treasure forever! We bring out our Salt dough Christmas ornaments year after year and it is lovely to see how these salt dough crafts develop as the children get older. 

Just scroll down to see our HUGE collection of salt dough ornament keepsakes. Making homemade ornaments from salt dough is such a fun and easy Christmas craft for kids of all ages!

Salt Dough Ornament Recipe

Christmas Salt Dough Ornaments - Supplies

Salt dough ingredients: 

• 2 cups of plain flour (all-purpose flour)
• 1 cup of salt
• 1 cup of water (you may need less)

You will also need a mixing bowl, spoon, rolling pin, and a nonstick surface (or baking paper). 

Supplies needed to make salt dough ornaments:

• Christmas cookie cutters
• Acrylic paint
• Paintbrushes
• Mod podge
• String

How to make salt dough ornaments

STEP 1:  Mix the flour and salt

Pour 2 cups of plain flour (all-purpose flour) into a mixing bowl. Add in 1 cup of salt and then mix the ingredients together. 

STEP 2: Add water

Now add the water to the flour and salt mixture. Add the water slowly as you may need less. Mix the water together with the other ingredients using a spoon. 

STEP 3: Knead the salt dough

Knead the mixture into a dough using your hands.  You are aiming for a playdough-like consistency. If the mixture is too dry add a little water, if it is too sticky add more flour. 

STEP 4: Cut out salt dough ornaments

Now you have made your salt dough it is time to use it to cut out your salt dough ornaments. Roll the salt dough out to about a 1cm thickness. Make sure you roll it onto a nonstick surface (or use baking paper). 

Then press your Christmas-themed cookie cutters firmly into the salt dough. Remove the excess salt dough from around the edge of your Christmas shape.

Carefully transfer your Christmas-shaped salt dough onto a baking tray and then add a small hole at the top of each salt dough ornament using the end of a paintbrush or a straw. 

STEP 5: Bake salt dough ornaments

To dry out your salt dough ornaments bake them in the oven at a low temperature.  Ovens vary, but I would suggest turning the oven to 100 degrees (Celsius) or less to avoid any burning. You are aiming to dry out the salt dough, not cook it. 

The salt dough will take several hours to dry out depending on the thickness of your salt dough decorations. 

If when you check your salt dough ornaments they are still soft on the bottom you will need to turn them over and put them back in the oven for a little longer. 

STEP 6: Paint salt dough ornaments

Once your Christmas salt dough ornaments have fully dried out and cooled down it is time to paint them. Protect your surface (or paint on a paper plate) and get creative using acrylic paint. 

Once the paint has dried add a layer or Mod Podge to protect the salt dough from any moisture. 

STEP 7: Add string to salt dough ornaments

Now it is time to get ready to hang your ornaments. Once the Mod Podge has dried thread a piece of string through the hole at the top of each of your salt dough ornaments. Make a loop and tie the string.

As an alternative, you could use ribbon or twine instead of string. 

STEP 7: Hang salt dough ornaments

Your Christmas salt dough ornaments are now ready to be hung on your Christmas tree. Don't they look beautiful hanging between the twinkly lights!

If you are planning on keeping your Christmas salt dough ornaments to bring out year after year, why not add your child's name and age on the back using a marker so that you can remember who made each of the salt dough decorations. 

When storing your Christmas salt dough ornaments make sure they are kept in a warm, dry place, as if moisture gets into the decorations it will ruin them. We wrap ours in paper towels and then store them in air-tight boxes. 

Our collection of Christmas salt dough ornaments seems to grow and grow! The kids have made some of the salt dough crafts independently and for others they have made the handprint or footprint and I have painted them. Salt dough ornaments for babies have to be my favourite as they are so tiny!

Salt Dough Ornaments

Click on the titles or images of the salt dough Christmas ornaments below to be taken to full instructions for each of the salt dough crafts. All of these salt dough ornaments can be made using our easy salt dough recipe.

Salt Dough Santa Handprint

One of my favouirtes, these salt dough santa handprints look stunning on the tree. I have always loved Harry and Daisy's Santa handprints and have just added one of Oliver's handprint to the collection!

Salt Dough Handprint Robin

This salt dough handprint robin looks beautiful with a golden tint to it! It looks great against the green of the Christmas tree but would work well as a winter craft too.

Fingerprint Salt Dough Ornament - Christmas Tree

This is such a fun salt dough craft for preschoolers to make independently. There is a video included in our step by step instructions to show you just how easy this fingerprint salt dough ornament is to make.

Salt Dough Footprint Reindeer

These adorable salt dough footrprint ornaments were made using tiny baby feet! Try mixing cinnamon into the salt dough before making these salt dough footprint reindeer.

Salt Dough Star Frame Christmas Ornament

Adding photographs to salt dough ornaments makes them even more precious! Photo frame ornaments are suprisingly easy to make and they make perfect handmade gifts to give to family.

Cinnamon Salt Dough Gingerbread Man Ornament

Here is another salt dough ornament that has had cinnamon added to the salt dough whilst it was being made. Add fingerprint buttons to this salt dough gingerbread man craft to make an adorable and personalized Christmas ornament.

Salt Dough Footprint Penguin

This beautiful footprint penguin is a fun salt dough ornament to make. I love the addition of a little felt hat and scarf! This salt dough craft would also be fun to make as part of a winter themed project.

Salt Dough Snowman Ornament

These snowman ornaments are so much fun for toddlers and preschoolers to make independently and you can guarentedd that each of these salt dough Chrisrtmas ornaments will end up being totally unique!

Fingerprint Snowman Ornament 

We also have fingerprint snowman ornaments. This is actually a clay ornament rather than a salt dough ornament, but it would work just as well if it was make out of salt dough. Just follow our easy salt dough recipe rather than using air dry clay.

Penguin Salt Dough Handprint Ornament

Make a salt dough handprint ornament full of penguins! Made with a baby handprint this handprint ornament is totally adorable and a lot easier to make than it first looks! I can't wait to hang it on our Christmas tree with all our other salt dough ornaments this Christmas. 

Salt Dough Handprint Ornament Elf Craft

This cheeky elf ornament is made from a cut out salt dough handprint and painted with acrylic paint. This salt dough handprint ornament looks great paired with the salt dough santa! 

Easy Salt Dough Decoration

Keep it simple and use cookie cutters to make Christmas tree shapes and then decorate your salt dough with markers.

Here are a few more salt dough crafts that we love from some of our favourite websites;

Snowman handprint ornament

Star ornament with bells

Puppy paw print ornament

Have fun using our easy salt dough recipe to make your own set of salt dough ornaments. The big question is, which of these salt dough Christmas ornaments will you make first! These salt dough crafts make such fun Christmas crafts for kids. Take a look at all our keepsake crafts too!

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