By

I owe the inspiration for this post to S.  We were sitting drawing and decorating some gingerbread men on paper and she sighed "I wish we could make them smell good!".  I thought for a minute and came up with this.  These guys were super fun to make and oh my goodness, they are fabulous little room fresheners.  The room we have them hanging in smells just like delicious gingerbread goodness!!!


First you'll need some sturdy paper.  We used colored cardstock.  If you don't have any cardstock lying around, the back of a cereal box would work perfectly.  Freehand draw a gingerbread man outline, trace a cookie cutter, or any gingerbread man shaped thing you have in the house (we had an ornament - score!).

This post contains affiliate links for your convenience.

Next cut out your gingerbread man with scissors.  I found the easiest way was to poke a hole through the center of him and then cut along the lines.  Once you have a piece of paper with a gingerbread man sized hole in it - grab some contact paper and cut a rectangle large enough to cover him.  Peel and stick your contact paper over the opening.  Flip your paper over and present to your child such that the gingerbread man is sticky.  S opted to have me cut "two chocolate noses, two red smiles, and some circle buttons".  She placed them like so.  (We used foam - but you can easily use paper or construction paper)


As I was gathering spices for the next step, she finally decided to cut some decorations herself and add a few finishing touches.  I think all that bonus orange frosting is going to make them extra delicious, don't you?  Be sure to give all the added bits an extra push to make sure they are secure before moving on to the next step - adding the scent!!!!  I provided cinnamon, ginger, allspice, and cloves.  S went to town adding bits of each all over the gingerbread men.


There was a LOT of this.  Which was understandable.  They really did smell AMAZING.


Once you've added enough spice, tap the extra into a container.  These leftovers are great for gingerbead scented play - you could add them to Cornstarch and Water or you could add them to Cloud Dough or you could add them to Salt Dough and make scented ornaments.  Or Playdough.  Lots of possibilities.


Here's finished gingerbread man number one:


And number two:


They are currently making a wall in our house look super cute and smell super delicious!

Follow along with Fun at Home with Kids on FacebookGoogle+Pinterest or Subscribe by Email or Bloglovin'!

All activities here are activities I feel are safe for my own children.  As your child's parents/guardians, you will need to decide what you feel is safe for your family.  I always encourage contacting your child's pediatrician for guidance if you are not sure about the safety/age appropriateness of an activity. All activities on this blog are intended to be performed with adult supervision.  Appropriate and reasonable caution should be used when activities call for the use of materials that could potentially be harmful, such as scissors, or items that could present a choking risk (small items), or a drowning risk (water activities), and with introducing a new food/ingredient to a child (allergies).  Observe caution and safety at all times.  The author and blog disclaim liability for any damage, mishap, or injury that may occur from engaging in any of these activities on this blog.

Comments

  1. Those are super-cute! What a nice idea. : )

    ReplyDelete
  2. Yet another one of your fabulous ideas that we'll be doing as an activity this week! Thank you!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yay! Thank you, Katie! Hope you guys love it and your house smells awesome afterwards!!!

      Delete
    2. We did love it and it does smell great! Thank you! http://katie-randomnest.blogspot.co.uk/2013/12/round-here-this-christmas.html

      Delete
    3. Love, love, love! And oh my you all are having the best time! Love that giant gingerbread house! :)

      Delete
  3. LOVE this! Can I feature this activity on the West Valley Moms Blog? I would use one photo and link back directly to this post :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Kara! As long as you don't give away the directions/tutorial in your description, a photo and link are great by me! :) Thank you for checking. :)

      Delete
  4. I love the gingerbread scent during the holidays. My twin nieces would have fun with this and we could use the excess spices for some cloud dough afterwards.

    ReplyDelete


Well, hello there!

Click here to read more about us!

Powered by Blogger.

Translate