Family and Kids’ Easy How to Make Walnut Christmas Mouse Ornaments

A Christmas mouse. The idea conjures up the line “not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse,” or the British tradition of giving a child a sugar candy mouse at Christmas. So, it is easy to understand why mouse ornaments are popular for Christmas trees. This is a simple project which can be done in one day plus another day for drying. I did this with my own children when they were elementary school age. It warms my heart to look at the Christmas tree and see these adorable Santa mice made by my precious sons.

2 or more people – child and adult mix

Paper to protect work surface and paper towels and water for cleaning fingers

10 Walnut shell halves

20 plastic googly eyes

10 pink pompom balls half-inch diameter

10 white pompom balls half-inch diameter

10 cotton balls

Gray felt (about one 11- inch square)

Red felt (about one 11 inch square)

14 feet of thick dark thread cut into 30 3-1/2 inch pieces (whiskers) and 10 6- inch pieces (hanging loop)

Elmer’s or other clear-drying glue (or hot glue and glue gun with adult supervision)

Scissors

A pen or marker which works on felt

Christmas music or other favorite tunes playing to encourage the “workers”

Depending on the age and patience of the children helpers, the adult may want to do the first few steps as preparation before the joint work begins.

1. From the red felt, cut ten narrow triangles 2 inches tall with a 1-1/2 inch base. Fold them in half lengthwise. These will be the Santa hat.

2. From the gray felt, cut 10 tails: ½ inch by 3-1/2 inches. Also on the gray felt, trace a penny or nickel and cut 20 circles. On each circle cut one straight line from the outside to the center. These are the ears.

3. From the gray felt, trace each walnut shell half (OR be an optimist and trace the same one 10 times.) Cut outside the pen marks – you are making the back side of the mouse which must be slightly larger than the shell so it can later be glued onto the shell.

4. Spread glue along the outer rim of the shell. Fold a loop piece of thread in half and stick the loose ends at the back center glue. Put on edge of a gray felt tail on top of it. Apply more glue if needed. Press the felt bottom onto the shell half.

5. Pull a cotton ball to make a line of white to be the white fur trim of a Santa hat.

6. Then re-open the red triangle hat to spread a little glue inside. Refold in half – gluing it shut. Place another dab of glue on the wide base of the hat and glue onto the walnut shell – about ½ an inch above the tail. Put drops of glue surrounding the hat connection point and glue on white cotton trim.

7. Fold 2 ears so that the open line edges overlap each other. Glue this. Now glue an ear on each side of the shell.

8. Put a little glue on the top of the hat. Fold the tip of the hat down towards the white trim. Glue a white pompom at the end.

9. Glue three whiskers onto the front center edge of the shell. Only put glue in the center so that the whiskers are free to move around. Glue the pink pompom over the center of the whiskers.

10. Glue 2 googly eyes between the nose and the white fur.

This is a lovely project which can beneficial in pulling a group together to create some cheer. I hope you will enjoy it as much as I did.

Photos and text copyright 2011 Maren E. Morgan, all rights reserved.