2 Weeks 'till Christmas: Great Gift Ideas

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We\’re setting up the tree this weekend at the log house, so it\’s all about tree and gift ornaments.

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Wee, Teenager and I have used a particular recipe for ornaments – from a 2003 Martha Stewart issue – several times over the years. It\’s a simple afternoon project. Or, in the case of Western Horse Review Managing Editor, Dainya Sapergia, who was tasked with creating a few western-styled examples for our Christmas photo shoot – a 1:00 a.m.-night-before-the-shoot project.

It\’s how we occasionally roll here.

The western cookie cutters I mentioned in my 3 Weeks \’till Christmas post would work really well for this application.

Simply mix together one cup of cinnamon and 1/4 cup applesauce. Then stir in 1/2 cup white craft glue. Roll it together, let it sit for an hour, and then roll it out about 1/4 inch thick, cut out your ornaments (remember to poke a hole with a straw for hanging it) and bake them in the oven at 200° for about 2 hours, flipping once to keep them flat.

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Once they are cool and dry, you can decorate them with glitter sand or whatever you choose. Here\’s the link to the original Martha Stewart recipe for Cinnamon Bird Ornaments, there is a full step-by-step included and a few Martha-perfected decorating tips.

Caveat: to avoid any emergency trips to the dentist or emergency room, remember to let your family know these are inedible ornaments!

$\"\"$ Finally, if you\’re looking for a few homemade gift tag ideas, I love the selection at www.eatdrinkchic.com, particularly these vintage typographic beauties.

$\"\"$ Simple download the template from this post, and print them out. I used a few textured, sandy old letterhead sheets I had hanging around. Pretty!