Jingle bells are truly a magical percussive instrument. When these tiny little bells are heard in unison they produce a very distinctive and nostalgic ‘jingle’ sound. This year many efforts are being made to make sure Christmas is merry and bright. You may have heard the news that has traveled all the way around the world from England? On Christmas Eve  December 24, 2020 at 6PM; everyone around the world will go outside and ring their holiday bells. Join the Worldwide Jingle and the local Jingle in SOMD on Facebook for ideas, resources and community connection. This festive celebration is meant to show hope and love across the world.

ORNAMENTS THAT JINGLE

Not everyone has jingling bells, sleigh bells or even cow bells. Really the idea is to get outside and make some noise to spread joy. How exciting it might be to hear neighbors near or far doing the same thing. To prepare for the big day, kids might find it fun to make their own jingle bell crafts. These jingle bell ideas can later be hung on the tree so they can remember the World Wide jingle in years to come. My favorite ornaments to put up on the Christmas tree are definitely the ones made by the kids. In this article you will find 12 different festive and fun kid friendly DIY ornaments that jingle.

WHAT YOU WILL NEED

The supplies needed for any of these craft projects are pretty basic. The most important thing you will need is jingle bells. You can find these at multiple places around town; including Target, Walmart, Michaels and Dollar Tree. You will need popsicle sticks, pipe cleaners, ribbon, as well as fun things to make your crafts colorful and festive. I recommend buttons, stickers, googly eyes and little rhinestones. The best way to glue these pieces together quickly is with a hot glue gun. However, if you have a little helper and are concerned about the temperature of the glue gun, I highly recommend glue dots or tacky craft glue.

CHRISTMAS TREES

TRIANGLE TREE- These popsicle stick Christmas tree ornaments are so much fun and super simple to make. Kids love decorating Christmas trees and that’s what makes this one so much fun! Start off by making your triangle outline by gluing your popsicle sticks in a triangle shape. Next is the fun part, can decorate them however you want with gems, stickers and buttons! Don’t forget to add string or ribbon to the back so you can hang it as an ornament.

POPSICLE STICK TREE- For this project you will need to pre-cut popsicle sticks carefully (this part is not for little fingers.) You will need 5 different cut pieces: 1″, 2″, 3″, 4″, and 5″ lengths of green popsicle stick. Next, evenly space out all of your popsicle stick pieces largest at the bottom to smallest at the top on a brown or plain colored popsicle stick. Then use a glue gun, glue dots or craft glue to attach them to the “trunk.” Enjoy decorating your tree with buttons, gems or stickers. Last but not least fasten ribbon for a loop to hang your ornament.

SANTA & FROSTY HAT

  SANTA’S HAT-

Start by gluing your three popsicle sticks together to form a triangle. You can either use red sticks that are pre-painted or paint your own for more fun. Once your triangle shape is painted and glued; you can decorate the trim with white buttons or cotton balls. You can add a button, cotton ball or bell to the top of the triangle to make it look like Santa’s hat. Glue a loop to the back so it can be hung.

SNOWMAN HAT- Start off by painting four small and two large popsicle sticks black and one small popsicle stick red. After they have dried, arrange the popsicle sticks so there are four small black craft sticks, followed by one small red stick and two large black craft sticks on the bottom. Secure your sticks in a hat design by gluing a popsicle stick to the back to keep them in place. To create the decorative holly berry; glue green felt or ribbon for the leaves and red buttons or jingle bells for the berries.  Fasten a loop of string to the back of the ornament and your Snowman Hat Ornament is complete!

JINGLE BRACELET & WREATH

BRACLET & WREATH- These jingle bracelets and wreaths are super simple for kids of all ages to make. This activity is a great opportunity to review colors and for practicing fine motor skills as they thread on the jingle bells. They are pretty basic and self-explanatory. Start by stringing beads, buttons and bells to your pipe cleaner. Next size the bracelet to your little one’s wrist and twist the ends to close.

REINDEER

CLOTHES PIN REINDEER- You will need 2 clothes pins either plain for a more nature look or painted brown. Take one of your clothes pins apart by removing the metal frame. Then face the two clothespin pieces together facing the same direction to create a head with antlers. Next glue, this piece to a clothes pin. It should look like the reindeer now has a body with feet and a head with antlers. Add googly eyes and a jingle bell or pompom for a nose.

POPSICLE STICK REINDEER- This version of the reindeer is even easier! All you need to do is glue on your eyes, ears and antlers!

SNOW FLAKE

CLOTHES PIN SNOW FLAKE- Begin by removing the metal piece from 8 clothespin. Glue each set together in a star shape. Next glue string or ribbon to the back so you can hang your ornament. The next part is the fun part…paint your snow flake white and add decorative gems, button, bells and bead or even glitter to make it pretty.

CRAFT STICK SNOW FLAKE- This ornament is pretty similar to the one above only a simpler version. You will glue three popsicles sticks together in a star shape. You can paint it white and once dried glue decorative elements.

***The Playful Parent is a 501(c)(3) non-profit created to advocate learning through play and to promote family bonding. All content and photos in this article are intellectual property of The Playful Parent. Please keep in mind that these crafts aren’t meant for small infants or toddler or children who put things in their mouth… as small pieces used in this craft are a choking hazard.***