How to Make a Reindeer Puzzle Ornament

puzzle-ornament-easy-christmas-craft-for-kidsWith Christmas just around the corner, we're getting in the holiday spirit and showing you how to make a reindeer puzzle ornament from puzzle pieces. The great thing about this kids craft is that one box of puzzles will yield over a dozen ornaments. And you know...everyone has a puzzle in their house with one-missing piece! We made this as gifts for our neighborhood, but their perfect for a classroom project or girl scout christmas craft.

And don't just think reindeer, with a little creativity you can easily make a puzzle piece wreath, cross or snowman. We found it easier to arrange the puzzle pieces and get our basic shape before painting.

ITEMS NEEDED TO MAKE OUR PUZZLE PIECE REINDEER ORNAMENT:
• 3 puzzle pieces
• 1 cotton ball or red pom pom for Rudolph's nose
• 2 Googly eyes
• Hot glue gun or Mod Podge
• Brown, Red & White Paint
• Paint Brushes
• Glitter (Optional)



 

STEPS TO CREATE OUR REINDEER PUZZLE ORNAMENT:

STEP 1:  Arrange 3 puzzle pieces in front of you. One for the nose and two for the ears.

Note: Make sure the bottom part has a point at the bottom. This will resemble your reindeer's nose (See second photo below).

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STEP 2:   After you arrange your shape, glue the puzzle pieces in place. We did ours with a hot glue gun to speed up the production process; however you can use regular glue. Just make sure to leave extra drying time.

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STEP 3:  Paint the puzzle pieces brown. Feel free to add differing shades of brown to give your reindeer more dimension.

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STEP 4:  While the puzzle pieces are drying, paint a cotton ball with Red acrylic paint. This will become Rudolph's nose. If you want to speed up the production process on this step you can use a Red pom pom.

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STEP 5:  Once the Red nose is dry, glue it onto the tip of your reindeer ornament.

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STEP 6:  Glue googly eyes right above your reindeer's nose.

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NOW THE FUN PART, DECORATING THE REINDEER!

STEP 6:  Decorating the reindeer ornament was definitely our favorite part of this kids craft. Embellish the antlers just about any way you wish. To give our reindeer a little bling, we brushed our puzzle pieces with Mod Podge and sprinkled with Gold glitter. Once that was dry, we dipped the tip of our paintbrush into white paint and made the most perfect polka dots.

 

STEP 7:  The final step in our process is to glue string to your reindeer ornament. We used raffia, but you may use whatever is available in the house: string, yarn, etc.

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That's really all there is to making your own reindeer ornament. Give it a try and let us know how your's turns out! And if you'd rather watch a video tutorial on this kids crafts click the image below.

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If you're looking for another reindeer craft, check out our "Rescue the Reindeer Holiday Game" we made using golf balls and egg cartons.