Tutorial: Popsicle Stick Christmas Ornaments (or Wands!)

When the holidays become most bustling--to and fro to winter gymnastics camp, to and fro to playdates with schooled children who are temporarily out of school, to and fro for last-minute bits and bobbles, to and fro to the library to appease the child who CANNOT take a major car trip without several dozen novels, back to gymnastics camp for the winter show, shitfire we have to make one more trip to the grocery store for cookie dough and oranges, not to mention, you know, the TEN-HOUR car trip--that, to me, at least, is when simple Christmas crafts are the most magical. Everyone settles down, everyone slows down, everyone relaxes back into the home and back into the process, not the product, of the winter holidays.

While, due to the bustling, some of our most favorite Christmas crafts, such as baking cherry bread with Daddy and decorating gingerbread houses with me, have actually been relegated to post-road trip New Year's activities, we made the time every day to come together for some simple special activities every day, such as these painted and glittered popsicle stick ornaments.

To start, you'll need plain popsicle sticks and glue--yes, you can use plain white glue for these, but you'll have to let them dry for several hours before you paint if you do, and if you use hot glue, you'll be painting five minutes later. A Star of David is two triangles--

 --with one upside-down and on top of the other:

A tree is one triangle and one stick--

--placed vertically from top to bottom:

Of course, after an ornament or two, the girls were done with that nonsense and fully focused on popsicle stick wand-making. This is why we only have a half-dressed tree at the best of times.

After the glue is dry on the popsicle stick creations, paint them--

--and then, while the paint is still wet, sprinkle the glitter right on:


Wait, did I say sprinkle? I meant douse. Liberally.

When the paint is dry, hang up your obligatory two ornaments onto the tree, and then spend the rest of the evening wielding your wand:

She was turning me into something not very complimentary, alas, on account of I had just told her that it was time for bed. Such is life for a young wizard...