Learn how to make adorable salt dough ornaments for your Christmas tree! Fun, easy, and perfect for adding a personal touch to your holiday decor.
Skills Required: Beginner. You’ll make salt dough according to the recipe, cut your shapes, and then bake it. Then you’ll paint and Mod Podge the resulting ornaments. Anyone can do this project without prior experience.
Hey there, crafty friends! Are you ready to try a festive project that’s guaranteed to spread holiday cheer and leave you with the cutest ornaments ever?
Let’s talk about salt dough ornaments, specifically those adorable gingerbread men that look good enough to eat (but trust me, they’re not!).
If you’re itching to add a personal touch to your Christmas tree this year, or if you just love the idea of homemade decorations that are as fun to make as they are to display, you’ve come to the right place.
Now, I know what you might be thinking: “Salt dough ornaments? Isn’t that something kids do?” Well, yes, they are perfect for kids, but they’re also a fantastic project for grown-ups.
Whether you’re a seasoned crafter or just looking for a fun weekend activity, making salt dough Christmas ornaments is a delightful way to get into the holiday spirit.
Plus, it’s a great way to create lasting memories and unique decorations that you’ll cherish for years to come.
Why gingerbread men, you ask? Well, they’re classic, charming, and just plain fun to make. With their cheerful faces and tiny little details, these ornaments will bring a smile to anyone’s face.
And the best part? You don’t need a bunch of fancy supplies or special skills. If you can roll dough and use a cookie cutter, you’re already halfway there!
So grab your apron, preheat your oven, and get ready to have some festive fun. Scroll down for the full tutorial on how to make these delightful salt dough gingerbread men ornaments.
Tips for Making Salt Dough Christmas Ornaments
These ornaments are perfect for adding a personalized touch of whimsy for the holiday. Then, of course, you can hang them on your Christmas tree. They look great against the pine backdrop!
How to Make Salt Dough
This is a very affordable project. You probably already have the ingredients in your kitchen! Our salt dough recipe is made with flour, salt, and water. It’s *really* easy and you can’t mess it up.
The only thing I ask is that you don’t eat the dough, or let your children eat it. It tastes terrible anyway.
Preserving the Ornaments
You have a few options for preserving your ornaments. Before you do any preservation, you’ll want to paint them (if you want to use paint). You can paint the entire ornament or partial . . . and I recommend acrylic paint.
After that you can do one of two things. You can seal the ornaments with Mod Podge (giving the ornament a few coats) or you can use a spray sealer. Or both. The decoupage medium is sufficient, but more coats just makes them more durable.
The finish you use to preserve the salt dough is up to you – pick Satin, Gloss, or Matte depending on what you like. I used Matte in this project.
How Long do Salt Dough Ornaments Last?
If you preserve your ornaments properly, salt dough can last for years. I have some dough ornaments from my childhood, so they would be at least 40 years old. They are still in great condition and there’s been no disintegration whatsoever!
Are you ready to start the project? Here’s what you’re going to need!
Gather These Supplies
- 2 cups flour
- 1 cup table salt (you can also grind up other salt)
- 3/4 – 1 cup water
- Mod Podge
- Baker’s twine or twine
- Parchment paper
- Acrylic paint
- Acrylic paint markers
- Sandpaper (optional)
Tools
- Paintbrushes
- Cookie cutters
- Rolling pin
- Scissors
- Baking sheet
- Oven
It’s as simple as that! These are so fun and easy to make, and it’s a great Christmas kids’ craft, as well!
Get the printable how to card for this project below:
Salt Dough Ornaments
Equipment
- Cookie cutters
- Rolling Pin
- Baking sheet
- Oven
Materials
- 2 cups flour
- 1 cup salt
- 3/4 – 1 cup water
- Mod Podge
- Baker’s twine or twine
- Parchment paper
- Acrylic paint
- Paint pen(s)
- Sandpaper optional
Video
Instructions
- Make the dough by mixing the flour, salt, and water in a bowl. Knead the dough to combine. If your dough is too dry, add a bit more water, if it's too wet, just add more flour. Salt dough is very forgiving; it's hard to mess it up!
- Roll out the dough on a flour and cornstarch dusted surface, around 1/4 inch thick. Use a gingerbread man-shaped cookie cutter to cut your shapes. For any remaining dough, gather it up and form it into another ball to roll out and cut. Repeat until there is little to no dough left.
- Use the end of a drinking straw or skewer to poke a hole at the top of each ornament for hanging.
- Place on a baking sheet and bake at 250F degrees (121 C) for 2-3 hours. Let cool. Flip the gingerbread men a few times so they bake evenly and do not curl up. Allow them to cool completely. If desired, sand off sharp edges.
- Mod Podge the top, sides and bottom of your gingerbread ornaments once baked and dry to seal and so you have a nice, even surface for painting. Let dry.
- Paint and decorate your ornament – to give it a gingerbread color, I used a mixture of tan and brown acrylic paints. Let dry completely. Add embellishments with acrylic paint markers for the ‘icing’, or even using puffy paint, ribbons, trim and other craft items.
- Once everything is dry, seal with another coat (or two) of matte Mod Podge, and then add your ribbon or twine to hang.
Notes
If you are interested in making some additional crafts with salt dough, get inspired by our salt dough pins. I’d also love for you to check out these ornaments:
Confetti • Decoupage Fabric • Glass Balls • Kids’ Handprints • Letters • Mason Jar Lids • Mod Podge Glitter • Night Light Bulbs • Painted Wood • Paper Bags • Paper Balls • Photo Blocks • Shadow Box • Sugar
Hi there, I can’t get mod podge for a few days but I need to make this ornaments today for a friend that will be saying goodbye to their pet. If I make these and baked them etc how long will they last before putting the mod podge on? I’m worried it will go off during the time I wait for he mod podge to be delivered it could be a few days to a week?
Your ornaments will be fine until the Mod Podge arrives! Don’t worry. And I’m so sorry for your friend!
@Amy, thank you Amy very much for your kind words and your advice.
@Amy, how should I store them u til the mod podge arrives?
Can these be put in the oven after they’ve been painted and sealed with mod podge? It’s my first time making these and I didn’t realize they would take 4 weeks to cure! I see my in-laws in four days and I’m trying to figure out how to speed up the process!
TIA!
Hi Melissa! Yes they can. Use acrylic paint, Mod Podge, no spray sealer, lowest oven temp (200-ish) and then do not leave unattended, check regularly.
@MELISSA, Where does it say it takes 4 weeks to cure?? I couldn’t find this anywhere on the page except for your comment and I’m considering doing this as a daycare teacher gift so I’m freaking out lol…
Hi Ann! Cure is different than dry time! Acrylic products typically dry right away, or within hours (or in humid environments maybe longer). You can touch them, hang them, but you shouldn’t expose them yet to rough handling.
Curing is when solvents in a product evaporate and a product reaches its maximum strength. Curing is a chemical process. Even craft paint goes through this process, as does wall paint, etc. You are fine to use them or send them before fully cured.
If I add google eyes, ribbon, tulle or stickers to the ornaments, when do I put the mod podge on? Can it go over those items or should the mod podge go on before I put them on?
Thank you!
Stickers can go before Mod Podge, but the rest just glue on afterwards with craft glue!
@Amy,
What if I put the googly eyes on and then sprayed with the sealer? What will happen?
Thanks!
This is a great post – thank you!
Would love your advice…
I had my first go today with my daughter : )
They came out of the oven pretty good – some still a tiny bit squidgy but mostly fine. However post painting they seem to have softened up again. Will they dry out again? Or is it a lost cause? They’re currently on the radiator…!
Thank you!
I think you can let them dry out on the radiator and they should be fine 🙂 Next time I’d just let them cook longer!
I have some ornaments I did when my boys were small that is in 1980 and they are still like when I made them. The only problem I have had with them is that I used copper electrical wire to make a loop to hang them and the salt eat the wire with time. We just do more and glue them in the ornaments, hopefully they will last till I last…..
Wow Liane! I didn’t even think of that with the copper wire. I bet those ornaments are such treasures to you!
My dough seems really sticky. When I pull my child’s hand out of the dough it sticks to his fingers creating an abnormal handprint. Any suggestions to help with this? Thanks!
Hi Lisa! Yes, just add more flour (a little bit at a time) until it isn’t sticky anymore. You want to go slow so you don’t overdo it, but it shouldn’t take long to adjust the mixture manually 🙂
Hi,
Thank you so much for all the methods.
I have few question in my mind
Can we sell salt dough creativity
Im working on ceramic murals and calligraphy with stoneware.
But due to travel i wont be able to go for firing my pieces.
Can i make murals with salt doough?
Thanks
Appreciate your response
Hi Siddiqa! Mod POdge will seal and protect salt dough and make it more durable – it won’t be the same as ceramic glaze! It’s not waterproof like that. But if you’re doing murals and not drinking out of it, you should be fine!
really bad qty
ha ha just kidding
Love this idea! Fun time making them and festive way of decorate the gifts. I am thinking we can use it as ornaments after that 😀 Thanks for the step-by-step tutorial!
I love these tags! They’re so cute!
Paige
https://www.thehappyflammily.com/