Christmas Tree Keepsake Ornament

Christmas has come and gone, and seriously wayyyyy too quickly. I love building up to Christmas Day and it's always so bittersweet when it's over. We aren't huge on yearly traditions, but I think we may have found a good one this year!

Growing up, my family always had an artificial Christmas tree. Being from Florida it just wasn't a big thing to go out and get a tree, and it wasn't a big deal as a kid because I didn't know any different. Our kids are almost 5 and almost 3, and this year we decided to get a real tree in addition to our regular artificial one.

Although Christmas is over, this is something you could probably do before hauling your tree away as well, though I got the idea when we picked out our tree.

Since this was our first tree I have no idea if this is something that happens everywhere, but part of getting our tree ready to go was cutting off a slice from the bottom of the trunk. Rather than leaving it on the ground, I picked it up to bring home with the thought of making an ornament with it. It was easy to prep and turned out so cute! You could do this every year to see how your trees have grown or changed, and see how your family grows.

Step 1:

Clean all the dirt and grime from the slice of wood using water and a sponge. Really only one side will be dirty.

Step 2:

To completely dry out your wood slice, place on a cookie sheet in a preheated oven (250 degrees) for 30-45 minutes PER SIDE.

Step 3:

Once your wood slice has cooled, use some sanding paper to smooth out the flat sides (top and bottom; not the sides with the bark).

Step 4:

Use paint for stamping your family's thumb prints on the ornament. I chose to just do my kids, but the whole family could probably fit.

Step 5:

Use a drill and drill a small hole through the top of the wood slice, and then place a ribbon/twine/string through to hang on your tree.

Step 6:

On the back (or front), be sure to write the current year!

Easy right? I decided to make my children's thumb prints into little reindeer, and to do that I waited for the paint to dry and then used a permanent marker. For their names I SHOULD have used one with a little more of a fine tip, but their finger prints are what will mean a lot in the coming years. I would LOVE to do this every year we get a real tree!