Salt Dough Christmas Ornaments

Every year in December my son and I make these wonderful salt dough Christmas ornaments. We have so much fun making them and they are so easy to make! They make fantastic gifts for friends and relatives from your little ones or simply hang them on your own tree.

Ingredients/Equipment Needed

• 1 cup flour 
• 1/2 cup salt
• 1/2 cup water 
• Rolling pin
• Cookie sheet 
• Drinking straw
• Holiday shaped cookie cutters 
• Acrylic paints
• Paintbrush
• Glitter (optional)
• Ribbon
• Parchment paper

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Bake Time: 1 1/2-2 hours, preheat oven to 250 F

Before you start to make the dough don't forget to preheat the oven to 250 F. In a large bowl mix the flour, salt and water. You want it to be soft and pliable. You may need to add more flour and water, but just add a little at a time.  I make my dough and put it in the fridge for about an hour because it's much easier to work with as it less sticky. 

When you are ready to start making your ornaments sprinkle some flour on your counter top or table to prevent the dough from sticking. Using a rolling pin, roll out the dough to 1/4 inch thickness.

Using your holiday cookie cutters cut out ornaments and place them onto a parchment paper lined cookie sheet. 

When you have finished cutting out all your ornaments, use the drinking straw to punch a hole into each ornament. This is so you can place a ribbon through the ornament for hanging. 

Place ornaments in the oven and bake for 1 1/2-2 hours or until completely dry. Flip once while baking, then remove and allow to cool completely. Oven temperatures vary so watch them closely. Once they are starting to lightly brown flip them.  If your ornaments are thicker or thinner baking time will vary as well. 

Once they are completely cooled (2-3 hours) you can paint them with acrylic paint. I bought some small, disposable containers at my local dollar store to use. My kids loved painting their ornaments and did a fantastic job! 

Allow the paint to dry completely before placing a ribbon through the hole for hanging. You are now ready to place your ornaments on the tree or give them as gifts! Happy Holidays and happy crafting! 

Mont Cascades: The Perfect Water Park for the Under 6 Set

Have you heard of Mont Cascades Water Park? It is located only 20 minutes from downtown Ottawa in the Outaouais and it is only $19.00 per person and kids 3 and under are free! We were lucky enough to spend the whole day there on a recent family vacation to Ottawa.  My kids (4 1/2 years  and 2 years) were bursting with excitement. They had never been to an outdoor water park before.  The entire short but scenic drive they kept asking "Are we there? Are we there?" I was grateful for the quick trip! Once we arrived the very friendly staff helped us to quickly get into the park where we began our day of fun! We had a quick peek at the park map and we were on our way!

Mont Cascades really is for children of all ages but it is the best water park in the area for the under 6 crowd. We have discovered that most water parks (both indoor and outdoor) are definitely geared towards older children so we were beyond thrilled to discover that Mont Cascades offered tons of water fun for the toddler and preschool set. The new addition of Splash Forest to the park offers young kids the chance to experience smaller, safe versions of the park's most popular slides plus water cannons, water wheels, a climbing net and the biggest, tipping bucket of water you have ever seen! There are also 5 kiddie slides located right near the entrance of the park that are designed for kids 48 inches and smaller! There are 3 smaller ones and 2 larger ones.  Both of my kids rode all 5 of these and loved them all! Parents are able to ride with their kids or simply wait at the bottom of the slide for them. What I loved most about the kiddie area is that is away from the bigger slides and it is very easy for both little and big kids to climb, play and swim. 

There are also a couple of small pools that are very shallow to cool off in.  One is located right near the front gate while the other is more centrally located and offers lounge chairs for parents as well. My kids had a great time splashing in the pools. The water temperature is perfect! We went on a bright, sunny day where the temperature hovered around 26 degrees Celsius. We were never cold waiting in small lines for our turn on the slides or too warm. There are lots of lifeguards in every area of the water park and they were constantly reminding the excited children not to run! 

There are also a few larger slides that young kids can ride as well with an adult. Mammoth River was our family's favorite! We loved that we could all enjoy it together!  Up to 5 riders per raft ride down a twisting slide to a huge splash at the bottom! Both of  my kids loved this ride (granted my daughter is a bit of a daredevil at 2) but may be better suited to kids 4 and over.

My son and I experienced a few other large slides while my husband and daughter played in the kiddie area. My son at 4 was able to safely ride Black Magic ( a completely enclosed slide where riders are completely in the dark), the Rapids River (lets you experience the thrill of a bobsled on a 2 person inner tube) and the Proracer (a 4 lane family style racing slide that you ride down head first on a mat!). He loved them all but his favorite was the Proracer because he could beat me! I had a great time riding the slides with my son and he was thrilled that he could ride the big slides with his Mom. 

Both of my kids played for about 3 hours before needing a break and when we did stop they were starving!  Mont Cascades does allow you take your own lunch and snacks into the park however nothing in a glass container! With everyone is bare feet they don't want anyone to step on any broken glass!  Or if you don't want to bring a lunch they do offer food and beverage on site including a licensed bar. We brought some snack and drinks for the kids but we purchased our lunch of hot dogs and fries. The food was good and very well priced!

Parking is included in your visit and there is ample parking. Change rooms and washrooms are conveniently located in the main lodge. Mont Cascades is open 7 days a week from 10 am to 5 pm. Check out their website here and plan your family's visit! It is the perfect way to spend a hot summer summer day with your small kids! My children still talk about the fun we had at Mont Cascades and I've promised we will go back next year. I had as much fun as they did!