Holiday Keepsakes: How to Make Salt Dough Ornaments with Your Baby 👣🎄

The holidays are a magical time, especially when it's your baby’s first one! Creating keepsakes is a beautiful way to mark these memories, and one of the easiest DIY crafts is salt dough ornaments. Whether it's a tiny footprint, handprint, or holiday shape, this activity is a meaningful (and affordable) way to capture your baby’s early days.

What Are Salt Dough Ornaments?

Salt dough is a homemade, non-toxic clay made from simple pantry ingredients: flour, salt, and water. Once shaped, you can bake and decorate them as ornaments or keepsakes that last for years. It’s perfect for baby handprints, footprints, or even personalized holiday shapes like trees, stars, or hearts.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour

• 1 cup salt

• 1 cup warm water (you may not use it all)

How to Make Them:

1. Mix the dough: Combine flour and salt in a bowl, then slowly add warm water until a dough forms. Knead for 5–7 minutes until smooth.

2. Roll out & shape: Roll the dough to about ½ inch thickness. Use cookie cutters for shapes or gently press your baby’s clean hand or foot into the dough.

3. Poke a hole: If making an ornament, use a straw to poke a hole at the top for hanging.

4. Bake: Place on parchment-lined baking sheets and bake at 200°F (93°C) for 2–3 hours, or until completely hardened. Flip halfway through.

5. Cool & decorate: Once cooled, you can paint them with acrylic paint, add glitter, write names/dates, or seal with Mod Podge for shine and longevity.

   
   

Keepsake Ideas:

• First Christmas ornaments with baby’s name & birthdate

• Handprint or footprint with “Baby’s 1st Christmas”

• Use a pet’s paw print for a full family ornament

• Create a “mistle-toes” ornament using baby’s feet!

  
  

Make It Stress-Free

If you’re newly postpartum and feeling overwhelmed, know that even trying to make memories is enough. At Mama Bear & Newborn Care, we’re here to help take care of the laundry, dishes, and everything in between, so you can focus on enjoying sweet moments like this.

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Let us support your holiday season with personalized newborn and postpartum care, including overnight help, meal prep, and newborn education.