Christmas Pasta Ornaments Craft
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It’s that time of year again – ornament making time. One of our favorite family traditions is making Christmas ornaments together for the holiday season. A couple of weeks before Thanksgiving, we spend an afternoon working in the studio on our ornaments.
The time is spent gluing, painting and imagining amazing creations for our Christmas tree. I love seeing all of the beautiful ornaments everyone dreams up.
This year, we upgraded our Christmas tree (affiliate) so there are more branches to fill. Instead of buying a lot of new ornaments, though, I’m crafting some.
These Christmas pasta ornaments were dreamed up after spending too much time making dinner in the kitchen. Making them is almost like solving a puzzle. So if you like putting pieces together as you craft, it’s the perfect project for you.
The first step to make Christmas pasta ornaments is to paint the pasta noodles. Since these are Christmas ornaments, I used metallic shimmer paints in red, green, gold, silver and white (affiliates). When planning your ornament project, choose colors that match your Christmas theme and decorations.
There are two ways to paint your pasta noodles. One way is to paint the noodles after you’ve glued them onto the ornaments. I found this pretty messy, though, and the paint gets into different sections of the ornament mixing together.
Instead, I decided to paint the noodles ahead of time and let them dry. Then, they were ready for assembly and it’s easier to make the project as a group.
To paint them, place the dried pasta noodles into a sandwich baggie. Squirt some paint into the bag and then seal. Using your fingers, move around the pasta noodles so they get coated with paint. Make sure you move them all around the bag to get them completely coated. If you notice that they aren’t getting covered, add more paint. Repeat with each color of pasta noodles that you want to make.
Once the pasta noodles are painted, pour them onto a parchment paper lined baking sheet (affiliate). Separate the pasta noodles and let them dry. If they are not sufficiently separated, they will stick together and make them harder to use later on.
After the pasta noodles are dry, arrange them into color groups. This helps with assembling the pasta ornaments. Think of it like you are painting, but with noodles. You need different colors to choose from to “paint” the ornaments.
For the base of the ornament, I found the scrapbooking cardstock wasn’t heavy enough. So, I rummaged through our recycling bin for heavier cardboard and found a bunch of lightweight boxes used for food packaging.
It turns out that product box packaging is a great weight to use. It’s heavy enough to hold the pasta noodles and glue, but doesn’t curl up when it’s wet with the glue. So if you are planning on making these ornaments with a group, set aside product packaging in advance so you have enough to make the ornament bases on.
For the ornament bases, you can trace Christmas cookie cutters (affiliate) to make any design you would like.
For our set of Christmas pasta ornaments, I created four free printable templates to help. You can download the free printable ornament templates here. There is an angel, Christmas tree, snowman and wreath design.
To make your templates, download the free printable as a guide and print on medium white cardstock (affliliate). Cut out the templates.
Using a pencil, trace the pieces for each ornament on the appropriate paper. If you are making these for a group project, create multiple of each type of ornament so the kids are focused on assembling the pasta ornaments and not cutting.
Angel Ornament
You Will Need:
Gold, silver and white pasta noodles
Body and wing templates of the angel (download the Christmas pasta ornament templates here)
Gold pipe cleaners (affiliate)
Gold glitter cardstock – for the wings (affiliate)
Hanging cord, ribbon or thread
Solid Colored Cardstock (for backing)
White Glue
Hot Glue Gun (for the adults to use – see note below) (affiliate)
1. For this ornament design, you will need the angel body and wing templates. Trace the angel body onto the cardboard and cut out.
Decorate the brown side with gold, silver and white pasta noodles. Using white glue, adhere the noodles onto the angel and let dry.
2. Trace the wing template onto gold glitter cardstock and cut out. Attach to the back of the angel with a hot glue gun.
3. For the angel’s halo, wrap the top of the gold glitter pipe cleaner into a circle shape. Wind the end around the pipe cleaner and twist together to create a loop. Attach the straight part to the back of the angel with hot glue or tape.
4. Cut a 4 inch piece of cording or ribbon. Make a loop and attach to the top of the ornament. Glue onto the back and let dry.
5. Trace the body template on a piece of colored cardstock. Cut out and adhere with hot glue to the back of the angel’s body to complete the ornament. Let dry.
Christmas Tree
You Will Need:
Gold pasta wheels, green elbows and gold bowtie noodle (for the star)
Christmas tree template (download the Christmas pasta ornament templates here)
Gold cording or ribbon for hanging
Solid Colored Cardstock (for backing)
White Glue
1. To make the Christmas tree, you will need the Christmas tree template. Trace onto cardboard and cut out.
2. Place the gold pasta wheels around the tree for the ornaments. Glue each one in place. Once dry, glue the green elbow macaroni around them. At the very top of the tree, add the gold bowtie noodle or cut a gold star from gold glitter cardstock (affiliate).
3. Once completely dry, glue a piece of cording on the back for hanging.
4. Trace the tree template on solid colored cardstock. Glue onto the back of the ornament.
Snowman
You Will Need:
White pasta noodles
Snowman template (download the Christmas pasta ornament templates here)
Red felt (for scarf)
Black cardstock (for hat)
White colored pencil or crayon
Gold cording or ribbon
White Glue
Hot Glue Gun (affiliate)
Glue Dots (optional)
1. For the snowman, you will need the Snowman template and top hat. Trace the snowman onto cardboard and cut out.
Decorate with white pasta noodles. Using white glue, adhere the noodles onto the snowman. Let dry.
2. Trace the top hat onto black cardstock using a white colored pencil or crayon. Cut out. Glue onto the back of the snowman’s head. Let dry.
3. Cut a strip of red felt about half an inch in width. Wrap around the front of the snowman. Adhere the left side onto the back of the snowman with a Glue Dot (or hot glue).
Quick Note… Although hot glue is a great way to stick on the felt scarf, once it is glued, it can’t be adjusted. I used Glue Dots for this step so I could continue to make changes after it was stuck down.
Wrap the other side around and trim the felt strip to the correct length. Adhere the other side of the felt to the back of the snowman with a Glue Dot.
Cut another piece of felt about 1.5 inches long. With scissors, add fringe to the bottom of the felt.
Using hot glue, place under the snowman’s scarf.
4. Once completely dry, glue a piece of cording on the back for hanging.
5. Trace the snowman template onto solid colored cardstock. Glue onto the back of the ornament with hot glue.
Christmas Wreath
You Will Need:
Green elbow macaroni, red pasta wheels and red bowtie noodle
Christmas wreath template and text circles (download the Christmas pasta ornament templates here)
2 Inch Round Paper Punch (affiliate)
Gold cording or ribbon
White Glue
Hot Glue Gun (affiliate)
1. For the Christmas wreath, trace the wreath template onto cardboard and cut out.
Punch out the wreath circle that you wish to use with a 2 inch round paper punch. Glue the circle in the center of the wreath template. If you do not wish to use the text circle, you can also use your child’s photo.
2. Place red pasta wheels around the circle for berries and glue down. Once dry, glue the green elbow macaroni around the them. Let dry.
3. Add the red bow tie noodle to the base of the wreath using a hot glue gun.
4. To the back of the wreath, add a piece of cording for each hanging.
5. Trace the wreath template onto solid colored cardstock. Glue onto the back of the ornament.
Tips for Making Christmas Pasta Ornaments with Kids
Make the Supplies in Advance
Although I love how these ornaments came out, there were a lot of steps. Too many steps isn’t always great when it comes to crafting with kids.
Simplify things by making a lot of the supplies ahead of time. You can paint the pasta noodles, download and cut out the templates and cut out the other accessories such as the scarf, wings and cording.
By organizing these supplies in advance, kids can focus on enjoying crafting their ornaments.
Choose One Ornament Design, Instead of All Four
I will admit that when creating these Christmas pasta ornaments, I got a little ambitious. I almost split them into four different blog posts since they are really four different projects.
But I wanted to give you options when making your Christmas pasta ornaments, so I included them altogether. That doesn’t mean that you need to make all four pasta ornaments. Choose the ornament design that you like the best or seems the easiest to make with your group.
If you are doing an event for church, creating the angel pasta ornament might be perfect. Or if you wanted to make these as a gift for parents, making a Christmas wreath with the child’s photo as the center could work best.
You can even try one this year and another one next. Choose the project that works best for you.
Be Clear about the Glue
Some of the steps for this project use a hot glue gun. I do not recommend allowing kids to use the hot glue gun unless you know that they can be responsible with it. Instead, set up a hot glue gun station and make sure that an adult is running it.
When there is a step that requires hot gluing, then that one person can be responsible to gluing together the projects. This will help make sure that the hot glue doesn’t end up where it doesn’t belong.
If you do decide to allow the kids to use the hot glue gun, it’s important to choose one that is child appropriate. Before letting the kids use the glue gun, be sure you supervise the project and explain the best practices to make sure no mishaps occur.
This NEX&CO Kids Mini Hot Glue Gun (affiliate) has many features that are kid friendly. Most importantly, it is lightweight. This way kids can hold it easily and without getting tired. It also has a no-drip nozzle to keep kids’ fingers safe. Usually when burns happen with a glue gun it’s because the hot glue stuck where it didn’t belong.
Although hot glue needs to be used for a couple of the steps, simple white glue can be used to glue on the pasta noodles. If you find that they are falling off after gluing, let them completely dry.
Allow Drying Time
As much as I love projects that are done in one step, these Christmas pasta ornaments aren’t it. They require lots of drying time. Instead of trying to rush this step, it might be best to glue the pasta noodles onto the ornament base the first day and then add the accessories the second.
From experience, rushing the drying process will result in the noodles sliding off of the base. So, let them dry at least overnight. The project will be much more successful.
Want to save this project for later? Pin me here.
Looking for other fun things to make this Christmas season? Check out these sweet lollipop Christmas trees. They make a great Christmas party favor or holiday treat. Or make a batch of gingerbread playdough to keep the wonderful scents of the season wafting all holiday long.
Happy Celebrating,
Natalie
