Making Apple Cinnamon Holiday Ornaments

Fall and the holiday season is always one filled with excitement, no matter your age. There are changes to the sounds we hear, the colours we see, and the morning air feels crisp on our cheeks. This is a fun time for embracing colourful crunchy leaves, smooth chestnuts, and spiky pinecones. This easy-to-follow recipe to make homemade holiday ornaments offers a fun activity as well as helps engage with some of the sensory experiences of the holidays!

Developmental areas that you can work on with your child

• Sensory – the smells of fall and Christmas! Smell and label the different spices

• Counting - how many did you make?

• Sorting – by shape (heart, star, circle, etc.)

• Concepts - small, big

• Eye/hand – putting string through the holes

Ingredients (makes approximately 2 dozen, 3-inch ornaments)

• 1 ½ cups smooth applesauce

• 2 cups ground cinnamon

• Thin ribbons, jute, or cotton string

Instructions

• Mix applesauce and cinnamon together until it is thick enough to get a clay-like consistency. Flatten the mixture on a flat surface and cut into cookie cutter shapes.

• Place cookie shapes on a cookie sheet to dry for 3 to 4 days depending on the size and thickness of the cookies. If using as a hanging ornament, make hole with straw before drying.

• Making ornaments with this dough is a lot of fun and the result smells delightful! Dusting hands with cinnamon for handling is helpful to keep dough from sticking. An adaptation to try is to add a teaspoon of cloves, ginger, and allspice to round out the fragrance.

If you want to dry them quicker – Bake on an ungreased cookie sheet at 150 degrees for one hour. Remove from the cookie sheets and bake directly on the oven racks for another hour and a half. (Don't roll thinner than 1/4 inch if you're using this method.)