If you’ve got an endless day with littles ahead and are craving an easy project, look no further than your kitchen. And while baking and cooking are always an option, what about using your kitchen ingredients as crafting items to create something fun and different? Holiday kitchen crafts bring warmth and creativity to the winter season by turning everyday ingredients into festive decorations or opportunities for themed sensory play.
Cinnamon applesauce ornaments
Cinnamon applesauce ornaments are made of exactly what it sounds like – cinnamon and applesauce. In addition to two bottles of cinnamon and ¾ cup applesauce, you’ll need a drinking straw and cookie cutters, some colorful ribbon and a few hours at home to enjoy the cozy scent of ornaments slowly baking in your oven.
Preheat the oven to 200°F. Mix applesauce and cinnamon until a smooth ball of dough forms. (You may need to use your hands.) Roll out the dough to about one-third inch thickness. If it’s very sticky, either add more cinnamon or roll the dough between sheets of plastic wrap. Using your holiday-themed cookie cutters, cut dough into desired shapes. Make a small hole at the top of the ornament with a drinking straw or skewer (you’ll use this to hang your ribbon).
Bake your ornaments for about two-and-a-half hours, or allow them to dry naturally over the course of a couple days, turning them occasionally to ensure they are drying evenly.
Add ribbon to the holes at the top so you can hang your ornaments. Decorate with paint markers or puffy white paint “icing” if you’d like.
With proper storage, these memorable ornaments and their signature scent will last for years.
Salt crystal snowflakes
Another fun kitchen craft that requires very few materials and just a little patience is salt crystal snowflakes. Simply cut a paper snowflake (or you could use pipe cleaners as your base), heat some water and stir in as much salt as you can until the salt crystals no longer dissolve. Note: This will be a lot of salt – almost an entire container – but regular table salt will do. No need to splurge on anything fancy!
Lay your paper snowflake on a shallow plate or dish where it can hang out for a few days, and allow your kids to heavily paint salt water onto their snowflakes. Leave the plate in a warm, sunny spot for two to three days (we put ours near our radiator). As the water evaporates, salt crystals will form and sparkle all over your snowflakes. These are pretty fragile, but once dry, you can attach ribbon and hang them in windows for the season.
Ice gems
Have kids that are into pretend play? This one is an easy win. All you’ll need is a muffin tin, water and food coloring. Mix food coloring and water into individual muffin cups and freeze. Once frozen, pop your ice molds out and you have colorful, exciting ice gems that are perfect for pretend play outdoors. If you’d like to add a twist, you could even freeze little things inside the molds – tiny play figurines, glitter, sequins, whatever your kids are into. The more food coloring you use, the richer in color your gems will be. Just add imagination and gloves and off the kids go to play! These are especially fun to play with during snow days.
Peppermint playdough
Homemade playdough is much easier than it seems, and you can add a simple, taste-safe holiday twist with store-bought peppermint extract. Add 1 cup of flour, ½ cup salt, and 2 tablespoons of cream of tartar to a small saucepan. Stir in 1 cup of water, 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil, some red food coloring (as much or as little as you’d like to customize the coloring), and eight to 10 drops of peppermint extract (again, feel free to add scent at your preference level). Cook this mixture over medium heat, stirring constantly, until it begins to pull away from the sides of the pan and form a soft ball. Next, move your playdough to a flat surface and let it cool enough that you can begin to knead it until smooth. Voila – homemade, festive peppermint-scented playdough that you can store in a resealable bag or plastic container for weeks.
Rainbow rice
I’ll be honest, you’ll want to make sure your vacuum cleaner is charged for this one, but homemade rainbow rice may just end up being the sensory play material that, over time, gives you back hours of peaceful moments. You’ll need about 6 cups of plain, uncooked rice (give or take – you’ll use 1 cup per color of rice), a bottle of white vinegar, some liquid food coloring, plastic resealable bags, and a drying surface like parchment paper or foil lined-baking sheets.
In a resealable bag (such as a Ziploc bag), add 1 teaspoon of white vinegar and 15-20 drops of one color of food coloring to 1 cup of uncooked rice. Push the air out of the bag and seal it so you can shake or massage the rice until every grain is coated in color. Repeat with as many colors and bags of rice as you’d like. Dump each color onto your flat drying surface and let the rice dry completely until it no longer transfers color to your hands when you touch it. I’ve found that planning to let it dry overnight works best. Pour your colors into a dry container and add measuring cups, scoops, small trucks or toys – whatever your kiddo is into. Rainbow rice lasts years when stored in a cool, dry place.
Pamela Savage is a freelance writer living in Springfield. During her free time, she can often be found puttering around the house looking for cozy projects.
This article appears in Parent Winter 2026.
