If you’re looking for an inexpensive, meaningful craft for the kids, this one checks all the boxes. It combines time outdoors, planning, creativity and the concept of impermanence. Kids collect pieces of nature and arrange them in water, creating a holiday ornament when it freezes. Hang the finished pieces outdoors, where the sunlight makes them sparkle while the freezing winter temperatures preserve them.
This craft can be a starting place to discuss the temporary nature of things in life. These ornaments remain beautiful provided the temperatures stay low but will quickly disappear once it warms up.
If you fill your ornaments with berries and seeds, as a bonus, the birds and squirrels can enjoy a snack!
Materials
Shallow containers: pie plates, muffin tins, etc.
Water
Twine, yarn or ribbon
Scissors
Natural materials such as:
- Evergreen needles
- Small sprigs or leafy branches
- Pinecones
- Small twigs
- Dried leaves
- Juniper berries
- Rose hips
- Cranberries
- Small flowers
- Dried grasses
Optional: thin slices of orange or lemon for color, sunflower seeds, dried corn for the birds.
Go on a treasure hunt
This step is part of what makes the craft special, so spend some quality time together gathering materials. Take the kids outside with a little basket or paper bag and ask them to look for small things that would look pretty when frozen in ice.
Arrange everything
Put your natural materials into the bottom of the container. Encourage kids to make patterns or choose completely random arrangements. Some materials will float, but that’s OK.
Add the hanger
Cut a piece of twine or ribbon and make a loop. Put the two ends deeply into the water, leaving the loop sticking above the container. When the water freezes, the ends become trapped in the ice, creating a hanger.
Add water
Pour in enough water to cover all the natural materials, but don’t fill the container completely to the rim, because water expands as it freezes and it might overflow.
Freeze
If the temperature is below freezing, put the containers outdoors on a deck or patio. Leave them undisturbed overnight. If it’s not cold enough outside, put the containers in the freezer overnight.
Release the ornaments
Bring the frozen ornaments inside or out of the freezer briefly to release them. If they don’t easily pop out of the container, run a little warm water around the outside of the container to loosen the ice. Just don’t pour hot water directly onto the ice, because it might crack.
Hang them outside
Take the ornaments outside and hang them from tree branches, a fence or any other spot where they can catch the sunlight. Enjoy the sparkling effects of the sun hitting the ice.
Notice how long the ornaments last. As temperatures rise, the ice melts and the natural materials inside fall and return to the ground.
Make them for the birds
Don’t forget to add bird-friendly ingredients, such as sunflower seeds, dried corn, nuts and dried fruit, if you want to feed the wild birds and animals when they melt.
Ice Wreaths
Instead of individual ornaments, use a Bundt pan or tube pan to make one big, beautiful holiday wreath. Arrange everything exactly as described above, and don’t forget to include a large, hefty ribbon that can hold the weight of the wreath.
Enjoy your homemade ornaments or wreath!
This article appears in Bend Nest Winter 2026.
MAKE LOCAL JOURNALISM HAPPEN
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